Detour
by RDJ-bae
Summary: AU / Betty Cooper runs into car trouble on her way back to the East Coast after having spent her college years in sunny California. She's prepared herself to make the trip home all alone, until fate throws her a detour in the way of Jughead Jones, a bad boy also on his way back east and in need of a ride there. One week can feel like an eternity, yet not enough time at all.
1. Chapter 1

_So I wasn't going to start this until I finished some of my other works because I know they deserve my full undivided attention, and you all (my lovely readers) deserve closure on the WIP's… but this one has been eating away at me and I am desperate to know what you all think._

 _This story is based on the fiction "Shame on Me, You Fooled Me Twice' by don't boop my nose from the Austin & Ally fandom. I loved that story when it was published some years ago, and I've decided to bring it to the Riverdale fandom for additional enjoyment. I have taken a lot from the original, but have also added a lot to make it my own. All credit for the plot line goes to don't boop my nose._

 **DISCLAIMER:**

 _I do not own, nor do I profit from, the Archie Comics, the CW Network program 'Riverdale' or the characters therein. They are simply used in the following story for my own entertainment. No copyright infringement intended._

 **XoXoX**

 **CHAPTER ONE**

She wondered if the vibration would feel good between her legs.

The early evening sun caught the chrome of a Harley Davidson™ parked a few spots over, gleaming in the sweltering summer heat. She sat in the driver's seat of her car and waited for the song that was currently playing on the radio to end, oddly fixated on the two-wheeled vehicle in her periphery. It was simple machine, painted matte black and donned with shiny chrome, worn leather saddlebags and a steel-gray crown embossed below the initials _F.P.J_.

She imagined what it would feel like to ride; wind whispering through her hair and around her body, her arms wrapped around a man with a tough sounding nickname, the engine purring beneath her denim-clad thighs. The mystery man whisking them away would look just like James Dean in _Rebel without a Cause_ , complete witha disgustingly unhealthy yet devastatingly sexy cigarette hanging from his pouty lips…

She sighed.

She'd been parked in her spot for all of two minutes and her sex-deprived imagination was already getting the better of her. She wondered only briefly where her new affinity for motorcycles was coming from, then quickly chalked it up to the fact that her parents were so strongly _against_ bikes and their leather-clad owners, that it made them appeal to her that much more.

In her fantasy-riddled and rebellious mind, she would ride a Harley just like this one.

And the man who drove it. She'd ride him, too.

Elizabeth "Betty" Cooper glanced down at her phone propped in the cup holder and scoffed. There were over a dozen missed calls and texts from one person in particular that she was keen to ignore. Nothing he could say would make her feel better about the situation she currently found herself in, so she decided it would be in her best interest to continue to ignore everything until she had reached her destination.

With a deep breath she cut the engine of her old restored car and glanced behind her into the back seat. Even with towers of boxes full of her belongings obstructing her view, the car felt so utterly empty. She was headed home, but instead of feeling relief or excitement for what awaited her, she was feeling the urge to put it off for as long as possible. In fact, with each mile that brought her closer to home, her sense of dread increased exponentially, as did her headache, and her ability to breathe lessened just the same.

She had needed a break, and so had pulled into a rest stop along the highway.

A bus full of travelers pulled in just after her and she decided to hurry inside, opening the car door and slamming it shut behind her. The last thing she needed was to get stuck in line forever for some aspirin and a refreshment. Eight hours into a cross-country trip from California to New York, she was somewhere in the middle of Utah with days left to go, and while she was in no hurry to get to, she _was_ longing to just be _home_. It had been four long years since she had been back there, with the exception of a Christmas or two, but there was also a reason she left in the first place.

After a trip to the ladies room and a quick browse around the convenience store inside the rest stop, she grabbed herself a Lunchable™, small bottle of aspirin and a Coca-Cola™ to have in the car. With her items tucked in a bag around her wrist, she found herself browsing the small souvenir shop that was across the way.

She was tired and did not feel like driving the additional five hours she had to go before finding a place to crash for the night. Her head was now pounding, and the ache only intensified when she yawned. She decided to pop an aspirin right away, and figured browsing around the souvenir shop would be a good distraction while she waited for the pain killers to kick in.

She looked through t-shirts, hats, bumper stickers and mugs; all the usual crap with basically the same desert photos on them. As she was about to turn and leave, glimmering sparkles caught her eye and she made her way over to a small case under some strategically placed lights that held some Swarovski™ crystal ornaments. She smiled lightly as she looked through the many pendants, her eyes landing on one in particular that she was, for some odd reason, drawn to.

Carefully she reached between the cactus charms and the cowboy boot charms and pulled a small crystal snake off the metal arm that held them all, and held it at eye level in front of her. She watched as it twirled before her, the ebbs and twists of the snake body catching the light and casting small sparkles all around her.

"Get it, you know you want it," a breathy voice said from behind, startling her. It caused a knee-jerk reaction that resulted in the ornament slipping from her fingers and falling to the ground. The snake shattered into what felt like a hundred tiny pieces on the polished concrete, and Betty's heart sank at the loss.

The woman at the register watched and sighed. "I'm sorry ma'am, you'll have to pay for that. Nineteen ninety nine, plus tax."

"Damn it," Betty muttered, quickly bending at the knee and carefully picking up the broken pieces of crystal. As she placed several broken pieces into her cupped palm, the same voice that had caused her to drop it in the first place spoke again, this time laced with amusement.

"Hmph, and they say snakes have soft underbellies…"

"I'm sorry—you think this is funny?" she snapped before standing and turning around, getting her first look at the man behind the voice. She froze for only a moment as she took in his dark hair and leather jacket, not exactly what she had expected to see when she spun around.

The man was taken aback by her anger. "You don't need to be a bitch about it," he scoffed as he plucked the string that held only the head and price tag of the now broken ornament from her hand. "And for the record, I _did_ think that was funny."

Betty swallowed and lost her ability to speak as her eyes absorbed the striking man standing before her. The way he scowled at her and shook his head had quite an effect on her, though she was certain it was not the kind he had intended.

She cleared her throat and straightened her spine, getting a grip on herself. "Well, I didn't think it was funny at all and now it cost me twenty bucks, so..."

He leaned in close. "Then you need to take the stick out of your ass and lighten up." He stood straight again, his height towering over her as his scowl deepened. "Give it to me, I'll pay for it."

Before Betty could respond he grabbed her wrist and rotated it, dumping the broken contents into his own palm, and she cursed the shiver that ran down her spine from the brief contact of his skin on her own. He exhaled loudly.

She stared blankly at the man before her in his blue jeans and brown boots. He wore a plain black leather jacket that hung open in the front, showing off his tight white shirt and the flannel that was tied loosely around his waist. From what she could tell in her quick appraisal, he was fit, but not too muscular. His shoulders were broad and his waist was thin. With the leather motif and a hardness to his stare, he certainly wasn't her usual type, but the way his scowl made her insides tingle did not go unnoticed.

He brushed past her and she turned on her heels. Of course he had to smell amazing on top of it all... She cursed at her body for reacting this way toward him when she wanted so badly to be angry with him.

She followed him to the register as she fished through her wallet for money, but he was too quick and had paid for it already by the time she pulled her cash out. He handed her the plastic bag containing the broken pieces and quirked a brow at her. "There's some change in the bag. Buy yourself a sense of humor."

Her brow furrowed and her jaw dropped as she watched him walk away and out of the store. _Asshole_.

Betty knew that her headache probably played a part in her short temper, not to mention her fatigue from the long lonesome drive. Her reaction was probably a little harsh, but that man's audacity was on a whole other level of rude. Sure, be defensive of the way she snapped, but call her a bitch and tell her to take the stick out of her ass? That had been a bit much.

After several long moments of staring at the now-closed door, she snapped herself out of her state of shock. It was time to shake off the bizarre encounter and get moving. Her stomach was growling and she was looking forward to breaking into her road snacks once she was back on the highway.

She opened her ice-cold soda and took a long sip as she walked out of the building. Swallowing it down, she took a second small sip and savored the sugary carbonation as she walked around to the side of the building where she had parked. She had been digging through her bag looking for the little bottle of aspirin, needing to take the edge off of this growing headache. She pulled it out and immediately popped the lid, pulling out the cotton and two little pills. Her movements ceased when she noticed _him_ two spots down from her car, sitting on the very motorcycle she had been fantasizing about just moments earlier.

 _Of course_ , she thought. _Why wouldn't the bike belong to him?_

Taking a deep breath, she approached her car slowly, hoping beyond hope he wouldn't notice her. As was her luck, he noticed her almost immediately and he flashed her an exaggerated smile as he waved with just his fingers. She rolled her eyes and popped her aspirin, sipped another small bit of soda then scoffed. "You again…"

"Me again. Did you end up buying a sense of humor?" he called over to her, the cold edge of his voice from earlier was gone and instead he sounded… _amused_.

"I used the change to buy you some couth instead," she smirked.

Smiling, he shook his head at her and Betty felt a little bit of the weight that their earlier encounter had caused, lift from her shoulders. She watched as he ran his hand through his hair, smoothing it back and out of his eyes. He put his helmet on and thrust down on the kick start, the bike roaring to life and rumbling Betty to her core.

She licked her lips, got into her car and shut the door, unable to resist looking over her shoulder at him one more time. He winked at her through the helmet and her stomach fluttered.

Betty watched through the rear view mirror as he backed out of his parking spot. She had expected him to take off, tires squealing and smoking, but after moving away slowly the bike came to an abrupt stop. She watched, titillated, as he tried to rev the bike and get it moving again, and listened as the low rumble died out into silence.

He tried the kick start again and the bike made a noise she was certain wasn't normal. He continued to try and bring it back to life but to no avail. He removed his helmet and ran his hand through his hair again, this time in frustration before he flipped the kick stand back down and hopped off to inspect things.

Betty knew she should have left then, but she couldn't take her eyes off of him as he struggled to get the motorcycle to run. She opened her Lunchable™ and meticulously placed a slice of cheese and then a slice of turkey onto a rounded cracker and bit half of the little sandwich away, continuing to watch like a spectator at a sporting event as the sexy man tried to get his bike to start. After several long minutes he hung the helmet up on the handlebar and took out his phone and made a call, pacing back and forth.

Betty finished off her first cracker sandwich and began building herself another.

When the call ended he put his phone away and glared in Betty's direction. Caught in the act of watching him, she let out a nervous laugh. She didn't mean to poke fun at his unfortunate situation, but it had just bubbled out of her. He quirked his brow at her and it only made her smile, bite her lip to stop another chuckle, and look away.

He moved slowly over to the side of her car and bent at the hip, leaning on the open passenger side door and peeking into the open window at her. "You think this is funny, princess?"

Betty shook her head no, but snorted out another bout of laughter anyway.

He smirked and shook his head. "Well, I'm glad you at least found your sense of humor."

Betty sucked in a deep breath and looked forward at the steering wheel, sobering up quickly. Just the sound of his voice was affecting her.

He craned his neck to look into the back seat and took notice of all the boxes and empty water bottles. "You homeless or something? Living out of your car?"

Betty scrunched up her nose. "No, I'm in the middle of a cross country trip…"

He nodded. "Where are you headed?"

Betty thought for a moment. Was it wise to tell a complete stranger where you were going? Probably not. She had already admitted she was on a road trip, though, and it was painfully obvious that she was on her own. Was she concerned for her safety enough to stop the conversation with the man-candy hanging into her car by ignoring his questions? Apparently not.

She cleared her throat. "New York," she answered. She was honest, but vague. After all, she could be going anywhere in the state of New York by that admission. No harm, right?

"Me too."

Betty quirked a brow and nodded toward his Harley™. "Well it doesn't look like you're getting there anytime soon," she said with a coy smile. "I guess that's payback for calling me a bitch."

He smirked back. "That would seem to be the case."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "What, that it's payback?"

"No, that you're a bitch." His scoff quickly morphed into a smile.

Betty shook her head but couldn't wipe the smile from her face. "Very funny…"

He pushed back and stood up straight, forcibly drawing her eyes to his groin as it was the only thing visible through her open window now. She swallowed as she stared at the definition beneath his tight white shirt. She even swore she could see the sharp cut V that traveled south into the waistband of his jeans.

"You know what else is funny?" he called to her, unbuttoning his riding gloves.

She snapped her eyes away from his body and blushed. "What?"

He moved back a few steps so that their eyes could connect through the window again and crossed his arms in front of his body. "Karma."

There was a long pause as Betty stared blankly at him. "What do you mean?"

The dark haired man shrugged his shoulders and suppressed a smile. "Come around here and have a look at your tire."

Betty felt a wave of heat wash over her face as she set her snack down on the center console and got out of the car, slamming the door behind her. She eyed him suspiciously as she moved around the tail end, then followed his gaze and found that her rear passenger side tire was completely flat.

She closed her eyes and clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white for a split second before she lessened the squeeze. Taking a deep breath she quickly opened her palms and spread her fingers at her sides. _Not now, Elizabeth_.

"Did you know it was flat this entire time?" she asked, all amusement gone from her expression.

"I noticed it right around the time I caught you laughing at me, yes." He moved away from her, back toward his previously abandoned bike.

Betty let her shoulders slump as she moved over to the open passenger window. She leaned in and reached across, grabbing the keys from where they hung from the ignition. She could feel his eyes on her ass, but rather than make her mad, it exhilarated her a little bit. She lingered a second or two longer than she needed to before she pulled herself back out the window and made her way back over to the back end of the car.

She stuck the key in and turned, popping the trunk and stuffing the keys into the front pocket of her cutoff denim shorts. The sexy biker man stood back, leaned against his motorcycle with his arms crossed as he watched her pull box after box from her trunk and pile them on the pavement beside her.

After a few minutes she wiped a bead of sweat from her brow and leaned in, hauling the spare from the trunk and dropping it to the ground with a bounce.

"Do you know what you're doing with that thing?" he called over to her.

She looked over her shoulder at him. "Do you?" she said nodding toward the stalled bike he leaned on.

He put his arms up in mock defense and continued to watch as she pulled the jack out and set it up. He was impressed, to say the least, as he watched her skillfully jack the car up and pull the tire iron from the trunk, quickly and expertly getting to work.

Betty was overheating fast in the blazing sun, and she found that when she went to twist the lug nuts off, two of them fought back. She moved on and rid the wheel of the easiest three, but try hard as she might, the last two just wouldn't come loose.

She stood back with a huff. Breathing heavily she turned and looked at him, putting her hand on her hip. She really didn't want to involve him, but…

"Will you help me?" she finally asked, not missing the way his eyes raked over her glistening chest as she shielded her eyes from the sun. "I know you have no reason to after the way I snapped at you, but I'm desperate. I don't want to be stuck out here all night."

He pushed off his bike and slowly moved toward her, his arms still crossed in front of his chest as he stepped up to her. "Let me ask you a question…"

Betty shifted her weight and went on high alert as he entered her personal space. "Okay…"

He rubbed his chin. "How badly do you want that tire changed?"

She backed away from him, immediately suspicious of his tone. She had definitely not missed the way his eyes flicked to her cleavage before returning to her face, not that she was helping herself any with her choice of low cut shirt, but still...

"What exactly are you insinuating?"

His expression softened and that sexy smirk reappeared. "Get your mind out of the gutter, princess. I'm not propositioning you, if that's what you think." He looked her up and down, blatantly this time. "You're not my type."

She was irrationally offended. "Is that so? What exactly is your type?"

He scoffed. "I typically go for women who don't have the personality of a doorknob."

Betty deadpanned. "Gee, thanks."

"My pleasure."

She shook her head and sighed, motioning back to the tire. "What are your conditions?"

"Well, as you clearly know, my bike is experiencing a malfunction at the moment. It needs a part that I don't have access to out here. I called in a tow, but I'm on a deadline and like you, I need to get to New York."

Betty was taken aback as she looked at him incredulously. "You… you're not suggesting…"

"Yeah," he huffed. "I am. I will help you get that tire off and changed if you let me ride with you."

"Ride with me?" she said looking up at the sky and shaking her head.

"Ride me, yes."

Her head shot back down. "What did you just say?"

"You're hearing things," he said as he looked at her, concern on his handsome, brooding features.

Did her tired mind really imagine that he'd said that, or was he messing with her? She shook her head to rid herself of the erotic images now flashing through it.

"I cannot drive hundreds of miles with a complete stranger," she said.

"It's a hell of a lot safer than driving alone…" he disparaged.

"Not if you're a serial killer!"

"Look who's talking. You're the one in there obliterating innocent reptiles. You know they say homicidal behavior starts with small animals…"

Betty couldn't help but laugh as she turned away from him and wiped the sweat from her forehead. This entire situation was completely insane.

He watched her laugh in disbelief, a leeriness still in her eyes when she looked up at him again and studied him for a long couple of moments. But there was also something else. Curiosity maybe? He could see the wheels turning in her head, so he stuck out his hand, hoping she'd cracked. "You in?"

Betty closed her eyes and huffed. "This is a terrible idea."

The man before her gave her yet another knee-weakening smirk as he shrugged. "Just because it's a bad idea doesn't mean it can't be a good time."

Betty thought on this. If anyone who knew her found out she allowed a complete stranger to hitch hike with her across the country, alone in her car, they would send her to have her head examined. It wasn't like her to throw all caution to the wind, and yet, something about this man excited and comforted her all at the same time. Sure, she was a hornier than a room full of cats in heat and he looked like sex on legs, but there was still something else about him that called to her.

She wasn't ready to let this man walk out of her life just yet.

She sighed. "What other choice do I have?"

"Well, you could always ask _him_ to change your tire," he said as he nodded toward a large scary-looking man who had seemingly been watching her work all along. The man looked straight out of a horror movie.

Betty shook off the chill that rattled her and reached forward for sexy man's hand, shaking it. "I'm in! I'm in... Just… get me out of here," she said with a cringe, ignoring the spark she felt when his hand grasped hers.

He smirked at her as he dropped her hand and immediately shrugged off his jacket. Betty stood back and blushed when he held it out to her, trading his jacket for the tire iron in her hand.

She couldn't help but stare at him as he crouched and began to crank.

The muscles in his back and shoulder blades flexed as he put all his effort into twisting the stubborn lug nuts. She appreciated, even more now, that his thin white shirt turned out to be a wife-beater undershirt, and she could see his fit arms flexing as he put in a little extra effort. Even the little moles on his arms looked sexy enough to lick…

 _God_ , she was pathetic.

"For the record," he said as he strained, startling her from her thoughts. "I would have offered to help sooner…" He grunted. "But there's something unbelievably sexy about a woman who knows what she's doing when it comes to cars." The lug nut he was working on finally pried loose and he cranked it off, moving the iron to the last.

Betty bit her lip and blushed, grateful that his back was still to her as she bounced on her toes a little. She seized the opportunity to look around them, and when she was certain that the coast was clear, she held his jacket under her nose and inhaled deeply. Her knees almost gave out. A dull ache formed between her legs and she squeezed her thighs together, yearning for any form of friction she could muster. Even the smell of him had her tingling.

She was beginning to question her own sanity for thinking it was a good idea to ride share with him. How was she going to contain herself while cooped up in the car with him for god-knows how long? She wasn't a promiscuous person, but she was no introvert either.

She watched as he set the tire iron down and removed the flat tire from the car. He quickly lifted and positioned the spare in its place. It took a few minutes for him to re-tighten all the lug nuts and set the car back down, but before long he was standing in front of her, lifting his shirt to wipe at the sweat on his forehead and innocently exposing taught forbidden skin. "All set."

Betty gulped. _Damn_.

She blinked a few times and tore her eyes from the sinful trail of dark hair beneath his navel and looked at his handiwork. "That was fast, are you sure it's on tight?"

He smiled as he set the tire iron back in her trunk. "I've got a few screws loose, as you'll soon find out, but none of them are on your wheel," he said. He grabbed the damaged tire and lifted it with ease, his muscles rippling again as he placed it in the trunk and carefully placed her other things back in around it. "We should probably stop tomorrow and get a new tire put on, though. This spare is really not meant for long term use."

Betty nodded. Tomorrow… _right_. So this was really happening, then…

Just then a tow truck pulled into the lot and crawled its way over to them, the sexy man giving the driver a nod and walking beside the truck over to his motorcycle.

Betty busied herself by moving over to the trunk, double checking that all her things had been put back and she shifted a few things around, grabbing one of the larger tote bags from the back seat and placing it in the trunk to make room for whatever belongings he opted to bring with him.

She watched as he pulled balled up clothing from his saddlebags, as well as the backpack that had been strapped to the back end of the bike. He walked them over to her and set them on the hood of her car where she had left his jacket.

"Mr. Jones?" the tow driver called out to him. He turned on his heel and made his way back over. Betty silently picked his things up and folded them, a habit of hers, as she absorbed the morsel of information she had just learned.

 _Mr. Jones_ , she repeated in her head. She was beginning to think there was something very wrong with her, because even his name felt sexy in her brain.

Carefully she placed his things on the backseat where she had made room and shifted a few more things around. By the time she was finished he had shaken the tow-drivers hand and was walking back over to where she leaned against the car, a black carrying case of some sort hanging from his shoulder. She noticed he was careful with it.

"We should really get going," she said as he approached her. The sun was getting low and she had a target to hit.

He nodded. "Want me to drive?"

Betty quickly pushed off the car and shook her head. "No, I need to be in control of this situation right now," she said seriously. She made her way to the other side of the car and listened as he opened the passenger door and slid in.

"Whatever you want." They each closed their door behind them and she watched as he stared at his bike being loaded up onto the flatbed with a frown.

She didn't really know what to say. She assumed he'd made some sort of arrangement to have it taken to wherever his final destination was, but he was clearly upset that he would not be going with it. Feeling awkward, she backed out of the parking spot in silence and made her way back out onto the highway.

 _Mr. Jones_ looked down at her mostly uneaten Lunchable™ and helped himself.

"Hey!" she scolded, but the smile in her voice betrayed her. He smirked back as he ate a piece of cheese followed by a slice of turkey and a cracker.

"Who even eats these anymore?" he asked with a full mouth. "What are you, ten?"

Betty feigned insult but chuckled anyway. "I don't see you complaining," she said and took some for herself, brushing her fingers against his in the process. " _Mr. Jones_ …"

He looked around the car for a moment and spotted the souvenir bag at his feet. He lifted it. "Did you even open it?"

Betty glanced at the bag then back to the road. "No, what's the point? It's broken anyway.

He set the bag in her lap. "Is it, though?"

She furrowed her brow and with one hand on the steering wheel, carefully reached into the bag and pulled out the snake pendant… in one piece. "What the… how did you-"

"You seemed to like it," he said, smirking. "So I paid for the other and bought you a different one. You were too busy looking through your wristlet to notice.

Betty couldn't help the smile and shook her head.

"Huh, would you look at that? A genuine smile." He held out his hand. "Gimme."

Betty handed him the pendant and watched as he leaned forward, looping the thin string around her rearview mirror and letting it dangle. She couldn't help the warm feeling that came over her as she stared at it, the light catching and twinkling around the interior of the car. "Thank you."

They were quiet for a while as he lay his head back and shut his eyes, the breeze playing in his hair. It wasn't until the sun began to set and illuminated the horizon in a bright orange glow that he turned his head to her, studying her profile. "You got a name?" he asked her softly.

Betty felt the butterflies rise to life within her again as she looked over at him. "Betty," she said softly. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Jones."

The corner of his mouth upturned into a slight smile as his eyes drifted shut and he turned his head forward again. His voice was breathy as he spoke. "It's nice to meet you too… _Betty_ …"

 **tbc**

 **XoXoX**

 _Who is interested enough to want chapter two?_

 _Please_

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	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:**

 _I do not own, nor do I profit from, the Archie Comics, the CW Network program 'Riverdale' or the characters therein. They are simply used in the following story for my own entertainment. No copyright infringement intended._

 **XoXoX**

 **CHAPTER TWO**

They had driven in utter silence for over an hour.

Even after Betty had told her new mysterious co-pilot her name, he had merely turned his head to look out the window and remained in that position ever since.

She was still fighting an internal battle with herself. Why on earth had she allowed a complete stranger into her car, and more importantly—into her life—so quickly? Absolutely everything she learned growing up had been centered on practicing caution and protecting herself in any way she could that made sense.

What she was doing now was definitely _not_ cautious, nor did she feel protected by having him there with her.

She didn't exactly feel _unsafe_ with him there either, though. And while her conscious told her that perhaps it hadn't been the brightest idea, her parents had instilled sympathy and compassion in her at a young age as well. To have left him there at that rest stop knowing he was broken down and needed to get somewhere… well it would have kept her up at night had she done so.

In the last hour she had snuck glances his way and inhaled his masculine scent from the next seat over. His eyes were still closed but she suspected from his breathing that he was still awake. A million questions swam around in her head as she was innately curious about the man next to her. Her need to know more about him was only growing with each passing second.

"You know, riding with a complete stranger seemed a lot sexier in Smokey and the Bandit. Also in Pretty Woman," Betty mused out loud. She couldn't take the silence a moment longer, even if that meant a topic out of left field. She would try anything to break the ice.

"Hmph," he scoffed from his slouched spot net to her. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not a frantic bride on the run." This made Betty smile, he knew his movies. "Or a prostitute, for that matter," he said from his seat, eyes still closed.

Betty felt her cheeks immediately burn at the idea of paying him for sex, let alone having sex with him at all. Of course, now she was having a hard time _not_ thinking about having sex with him…

Goddamn hormones.

His eyes opened then, and he turned his head towards her. Noticing the pink hue to her face, he smirked. "That's not to say I can't be persuaded..."

She felt his eyes travel the length of her body and she squirmed a little in her seat; not because he had made her uncomfortable, but because of the way her insides quivered with _want_ at the mere thought of his hands and mouth on her.

She really, _really_ needed to get her mind out of the gutter before she embarrassed herself.

"We're getting off topic, Mr. _Jones_ ," she snipped. "Speaking of which, do you have a first name, or…?" Betty asked, her eyes still trained on the road ahead of them.

He smiled at the awkwardness. "What do you want it to be?" he asked coolly.

Betty cast a quick warning glare at him. "You think that's cute?" She knew damn well he was quoting Pretty Woman on purpose now.

His smirk didn't waver as he quirked an eyebrow at her. "Do _you_ think it's cute?" When Betty only stared back at him, her eyebrow high on her smooth forehead, he chuckled and sat up a bit in the comfortable leather seat. The warm evening breeze washed over his face and through his raven hair and he took a deep breath. "Jughead."

Betty's expression was one of genuine surprise. She didn't know what she had expected him to say. He didn't look like a Luke, or a Mark or Brian or any of the more _common_ names out there, but she certainly hadn't expected him to say _Jughead_.

"Jughead Jones," she said out loud, trying it out on her own tongue and noting that it actually rolled pretty comfortably, despite its uniqueness.

"The third," he concluded.

Betty looked over to him with a hint of a smile on her lips. "Jughead's a family name, is it?"

He turned his head and looked at her again, noting the mirth in her eyes as she looked at him now. He'd take mirth over the annoyance he had seen in them upon their first encounter, and decided that if their chatter would make her more bearable for the duration of their ride, then he'd take it.

Though his family was not a topic he was particularly fond of, he would entertain her questions for the time being.

"Sort of. My birth name is a family name. Jughead is a nickname my father graced me with as a little kid. Unless I'm signing legal documents, Jughead what I go by."

Betty nodded to herself. "So what is your birth name?"

Jug shook his head and quirked a brow, playing with the cuticles on his fingers. "That's something only my closest friends and family know, and while I appreciate what you are doing for me, _Betty_ , you are neither of those things."

Betty ignored the tiny pang his words had caused and nodded again, after all he wasn't wrong. She decided it best to accept his answer and not prod for too much more. The last thing she wanted to do was piss him off when they still had countless hours left to share in this car.

The scowl was gone from his face and she had noted that, though the scowl did have its appeal in that sexy bad boy sort of way, his soft features were equally as handsome. "Can I ask where you are from?" she asked.

"Toledo," he replied as he closed his eyes and let the warm evening breeze wash over him once more. The air was beginning to cool and it felt glorious against his oily hot skin. "You?"

"A small town in Upstate New York." _Vague_ , she thought. _Keep it vague_. "If you're from Toledo, what are you doing in California?"

Jughead chuckled and looked over at her again. "What is this, twenty questions?"

Betty blushed but shrugged her shoulders. "Might as well be, we've got time to kill."

He turned his entire body toward her, resting his right elbow up on the door panel as he twirled a few stray strands of his hair in his fingers. He bent his knee to bring his left leg up onto the seat and hooked his thumb into his belt loop, inadvertently framing his crotch with his long fingers.

Betty fought hard to keep her eyes on the road.

Jughead smiled to himself, satisfied. He had made himself more comfortable so that he could stare, unabashedly, at her while they talked, and her unrelenting blush was not going unnoticed.

"There are _other_ ways to kill time," he said to her, his voice dripping with suggestion.

He'd recognized from the second he laid eyes on her back at that rest stop that she was pretty, and would be lying if he said he wasn't attracted to her instantly. Looking at her now, though, he was realizing just how breathtakingly _beautiful_ she was.

Her jawline was strong, and her golden tanned skin so shimmery and smooth he wondered what it would feel like beneath his fingers. Her lips were full and pink, and he found wanted to feel those too, preferably pressed up against his own, or another particular part of his anatomy.

Her high cheekbones, her wavy blonde hair, even the green of her eyes called to him.

Part of it was simple human nature. He was a man, a lonely man, and she a woman. Knowing what lay ahead for him in the imminent future made him yearn for a woman's touch but he wasn't exactly a one-night stand or casual sex kind of guy.

Betty looked over and quirked her brow at him, amused and encouraged at his blatant flirtation. "Not if you expect us to get anywhere," she countered.

He was still shocked that she'd accepted his offer and allowed him into her car. He blamed her delirium, and thanked his lucky stars that she hadn't yet come to her senses and kicked him out on the side of the road.

Jughead was taken aback by the coy smile on her face. He thought for sure she would be disgusted, or at least act it when he made the lascivious comment, not fire it back at him. She was… _fun_. "How old are you, princess?"

"I'll be twenty-two in three weeks."

Jughead nodded at her, and she swore she saw his eyes glaze over for a moment as if his mind was somewhere else a little less savory. Selfishly, she hoped he was thinking about her.

"H-how about you?"

Jughead blinked a few times. "Twenty-three."

"Really?" she mused. He shifted his eyes back at her, confused.

Betty looked him up and down for a moment before training her eyes back on the road ahead of her. She took in a deep breath and held her chin up as she stared forward. "Sorry. I just meant… Well you seem older than that… that's all."

He smirked. "I've… _lived_ a little more than your average young adult. I guess its showing."

Betty worried she might have offended him and quickly began to backpedal. "No, I didn't mean that you look _old_ , or anything like that. You're ho- I mean… you know, you look good." Her face burned red as she chided herself and refused to meet his eyes.

She cleared her throat and made a desperate attempt to change the subject. "Anyway…"

Jughead chuckled from his spot and warmed at her stumbling compliments. Showing mercy on the poor girl, he went back to their previous topic. "I took a road trip."

Betty took a deep breath in to calm her racing heart and nodded to herself. "On your motorcycle?" she wondered out loud.

"Mhmm."

She furrowed her brow and chanced a glance at him again before training her eyes back on the road. "All by yourself?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, why not?"

She shrugged. "Seems lonely."

He shook his head. "Peaceful," he corrected, and this got her attention again. She looked over at him, only to find him staring out the back window of the car, watching as the ribbon of road seemed to disappear off in the distance behind them.

"I'm sorry that was ruined for you, then."

He turned his eyes to meet hers, and she immediately felt a flutter in the pit of her belly at the way his eyes fell to her lips.

"It's okay," he said softly.

She looked back at the road in front of her. "So," she said, clearing her throat. "If you're from Toledo, why are you heading to New York?

Jughead shifted in his seat again, a sadness forming on his features as he looked away from her. "Technically New York is home too. My parents split up when I was a kid and I've bounced back and forth ever since."

Betty nodded, wondering what was going on in his head that had shifted his features so suddenly. Her intuition told her there was more to it than just his parents splitting up. While she could only imagine the heartache a divorce could cause someone, he was definitely no longer a child and assumed those wounds had to have been mostly healed by now.

"My turn," he said suddenly, eager to steer the conversation to her instead. "What made you want to travel all by yourself?"

Betty was already not loving the topic. "It wasn't so much as wanting to travel by myself as it was just needing to go back east as quickly as possible."

Jughead looked to the backseat at the boxes and duffel bags and remembered there were several more shoved into the trunk. "Are you moving permanently?"

Betty swallowed and nodded, keeping her eyes trained on the road ahead of them.

"Can I ask why?"

"Let's just say I needed a change of scenery."

Jughead narrowed his eyes at her. "Cryptic much?"

She sighed and rolled her head to stretch out her neck a bit. Jughead did not remove his eyes from the expanse of skin there. Betty gripped he steering wheel and exhaled through her nose. "My close friends and family know why I'm moving," she said matter-of-factly. "And no offense," she said, repeating his previous words to her. "You are neither of those things."

She gave him a look to drive her point home.

Jughead nodded and sat straight in his seat again, holding his hands up in surrender. "Well played, princess. Well played."

He knew he should have let the silence settle back in, but he was already growing restless and since he physically couldn't exert his energy, he figured mental stimulation might be helpful and continued on.

"Why didn't you just fly back instead of driving alone?"

Betty took a deep breath. Something told her he was not going to give up the questioning, and she knew she partly had herself to blame for starting it. She figured it best to just go with it.

"This car was my graduation gift from my dad. We restored it together all through high school, and I couldn't afford to ship it or haul it with the proper insurance _and_ fly back. Besides, I needed time to clear my head," she said as she nodded toward her phone which was buzzing away in the cup holder.

"Yeah, about that," he started, not missing the way she had ignored several calls in the short time they had been in the car together. "Are you gonna get that, like, ever?"

Betty pursed her lips and shook her head. "Nope."

"So you're just gonna keep letting it go to voicemail?"

"Yep."

"Can I ask why?" he asked and Betty felt the anxiety rising up within her.

"I'd rather you didn't."

"Does it have anything to do with why you are moving clear across the country?"

Betty simply turned and cast a warning glare his way.

He nodded to himself and sat quietly, watching as the dark orange sky morphed into a deep purple, and then a dark black, speckled with hundreds of thousands of tiny stars. Several long minutes had passed, of the exact length of time he was not sure.

The silence was becoming too much and so Betty leaned forward and turned the radio back up.

Almost immediately Jughead leaned forward and started messing with the stations, needing a distraction from the tension that had formed from their last conversation. Out in the middle of nowhere there was an awful lot of static, and while he could appreciate that Betty and her dad had kept the car original and didn't add CD or MP3 players, it was kind of killing him that he couldn't find anything that wasn't gospel or bible-banging sermons.

The cell phone illuminated and buzzed again, and with his arm already stretched outward for the radio, he had an advantage and grabbed it from its place by the center console. Betty's eyes grew wide as she watched the device move further and further away from her grasp. "Please don't-"

"Who's Archie?" he asked with a smirk as he dangled the phone in front of him.

Betty reached out and snatched the phone from his hand, declining the call and slamming it back down into the cup holder where it had previously been resting. "None of your business."

He didn't miss the way her cheeks and chest flushed as she took a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel. "Ooh, touched a nerve with that one. Ex-boyfriend, I take it?" he teased. She glared at him but didn't respond. "It's a long ride, princess. We're gonna talk about it eventually."

"No, we really won't."

"Come on, you don't want to get it off your chest? What'd you do, break his heart?" he teased. The way her jaw ticked told him maybe it was the other way around.

Her chest rose as she pulled in a deep breath. "He's just some guy back in California, okay?"

Jughead eyed her up and down for a long moment and noted the way she refused to meet his eyes. She was stiff, but her cheeks were red again. "Well your body language tells me he was clearly more than just _some_ _guy_."

"Can you just... Drop it."

"Drop it?" he repeated incredulously.

Betty was getting aggravated now. "Yeah, I said drop it."

As if it were a test from above, the phone began to buzz and once again the same name graced the screen. His eyes met hers for half a second before he lunged forward and grabbed the phone before she could and moved it to the right side of his body where she could not reach.

In the mood for some mischief, he answered. "Hello?"

Betty's eyes bulged from her head as her gaze swiveled back and forth between Jughead and the highway.

" _Archie_ , man, how's it going?" he asked with the most fake enthusiasm.

Betty could hear Archie's voice rise through the cell, though she couldn't make out the words. She glanced over at Jughead's cocky face. He shrugged at her and smirked, leaning back and getting more comfortable in his seat. She scowled at him. The bastard was enjoying himself.

Betty was furious, and in that moment, she decided their little road trip was over. As soon as they saw signs for the next exit she was taking it and his ass was getting kicked to the curb. His perfectly taught, denim-clad ass could walk through bumfuck Utah for all she cared.

"Well yeah, she's here, but we're kind of busy right now."

She heard the next question loud and clear. Jughead even had to pull the phone away from his ear as Archie roared. "Who the fuck is this!"

"Name's Jones. My friends call me Jughead. You can call me _sir_ ," he said with the perfect inflection that Betty could actually visualize was causing the vein in Archie's forehead to turn a deep shade of purple as it protruded.

"Put. Betty. On. The fucking. Phone."

Each word was a short staccato burst of anger. Suddenly, Betty was no longer angry at Jughead for answering the phone. Instead, she was livid that Archie, of all people, had the audacity to be angry at what _she_ was doing.

Jughead sucked air into his lungs from between his teeth, making an amusing hissing sound. "No can do, bud. She's… indisposed at the moment."

Another growl of expletives came through the phone. Betty blushed at the less-than-innocent images Jughead was purposefully painting for Archie.

"Listen," Jughead continued into the receiver. "I'm going to tell you this man to man because, well, you seem swell. Betty is avoiding your calls to be polite. Truth is, she just doesn't want to talk to you."

Betty's anger was rapidly bouncing between the two men. Yet… the way Jughead said her name…

She wanted to strangle him, but at the same time she wanted to hear him say her name like that again. She wondered when something had gone deeply wrong with her. She had missed Archie's response, too busy replaying the sound of her name spoken from the dark and handsome beauty of a man sitting beside her. The way it rolled off that cocky bastards tongue made her belly flutter. She may or may not have had a momentary lapse in time as she imagined it being whispered in her ear with a throaty strain.

She blinked herself back to reality as Jughead released an exaggerated sigh into the phone. "Alright then, Archibald. You're going to need to stop now. We're taking a nice long trip, and your constant buzzing is getting our girls panties in a twist. So, be a good boy and knock off the interruptions for a while, kay?"

 _Our girl_. That vein had to be ready to explode in Archie's forehead.

Jughead didn't wait for a response before disconnecting the call. He played with the phone for a quick second, then set it upright in the cup holder as if nothing had happened.

For a full five minutes, neither of them said a word.

She was sure he was just waiting for the tirade to come.

Eventually, he couldn't' take the silence anymore. "You're not going to lay into me about my chat with Archie?"

Betty's knuckles turned white as she gripped the steering wheel. "I'm processing."

"Processing?" His voice was almost amused.

"Yes," she ground out. "Processing."

He scoffed. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means I don't say the first thing that comes to my mind. Unlike some people, I think about what I'm feeling and verbalize it appropriately."

"You filter shit."

"I do not."

"Yes, you do. If you're pissed off, say it. Scream it if you have to, but bitch once and just get it over with. Stop _being_ a bitch all the time."

The road was pretty barren, so it wasn't difficult for Betty to slam on the breaks and pull over to the side of the road. She crossed over both lanes onto the shoulder and jerked the car to a stop in a cloud of dust.

It was dark now, the only light around coming from her own headlights and the occasional car passing by on the opposite side of the highway. Betty got out of the car, slammed the door and walked around to the passenger's side, waiting for him to join her. She stood there and watched, hands on her hips as he got out of the car and closed his door calmly.

"You have a lot of nerve," she spat. "I save your ass at the rest stop and you proceed to get in _my_ car, eat half of _my_ food, change _my_ radio station and then, to top it off, you answer my phone and put your nose in my business when I asked you to simply drop the issue all together."

Jughead folded his arms over his chest. "You did not save my ass. I ate two crackers, your radio required tuning, and you precious Archie's constant buzzing was visibly upsetting you."

Betty glared at him.

He glared right back.

Betty leaned forward slightly, chopping her right hand against her left as she glared at him. "If we're going to do this, we need to lay down some ground rules, right here and right now."

Jughead crossed his arms in front of his chest and suppressed the smile that threatened at her frazzled state. She was cute when she was trying to be stern. And the way her chest was heaving as she sucked in deep breaths in an attempt to knock him down was proving to be very distracting.

"One: Do not touch my things. We are not friends; we do not know each other. There is no reason for you to answer my phone or stick your nose in my personal life less than two hours after meeting me. Two: Please stop assessing me as if you know who I am. You know nothing about me, what I've been through, or where I am going. Three-"

Just as Betty paused to take a breath and lay into him again the light from a passing car illuminated his face and there it was; number thirteen. His angry eyes were exactly the color of number thirteen. How had she not noticed it before? She had seen him up and close not once but several times in the daylight and, somehow, she had not caught that his eyes were an exact match to her most favorite color in the world.

She loved it so much, she used to have to peel the paper off in the Crayola™ sixty-four pack before the other crayons had even lost their points. It wasn't just the color she'd shaded the sea; there was a whole year of her life when all the eyes, sparkles, gills, dresses, _everything_ in her coloring books were donned with that beautiful shade of blue-green kissed with just a mysterious touch of gray.

Staring into his eyes she had already been half gone, and then he stepped forward and took the other half.

"Betty…"

His voice was soft and his scowl had softened into a look of concern and defeat.

 _Damn him_. She didn't say a word but took a tentative step back. She was busy… processing.

"I am trying to help. Archie needed that." He sighed. "I don't know who he is to you, but whoever he is, he's obviously done wrong by you, and you don't want to hear his apologies anymore. Or his excuses or whatever. They're bullshit, and you know it."

Her chest heaved as she looked back and forth between his two paralyzing eyes.

"So, let him stew on the thought of you taking a trip with another man for a while. A woman like you, he should know men would be circling, waiting for their chance. He shouldn't need reminding."

 _Woman like me?_ Betty tried to keep up the facade of being pissed off. She wanted so badly to be angry with him for what he'd done, but she just wasn't feeling it anymore. Not after the jolt of seeing the true color of his eyes and hearing what he had to say in earnest.

She glanced around at nothing, needing to tear her eyes away from his before she let herself drown in them. She swallowed hard and let her arms drop from her sides, pointing one finger at him. "Just… don't touch my phone again."

Jughead pursed his lips and gave her a curt nod. "Yes ma'am."

She nodded, needing to feel some sense of victory. She couldn't just let go of her anger because he had a sexy voice and number thirteen eyes. Could she?

"How about I drive for a while?" he suggested softly.

There was a slight hesitation pulling within her, but Betty's night vision wasn't great to begin with, and she was starting to get a little blurry eyed. She nodded again and rubbed her arms, now chilled in the cooling night air. "Sure."

Jughead stepped backwards and opened the passenger's side door. He waited for her to settle in, then closed it and moved around to the other side. He slipped in and immediately adjusted the drivers seat back to make room for his long legs. A quick check of the mirrors and then a brief glance at Betty and he was nodding as he gripped the wheel and grabbed hold of the shifter.

"Driver picks the music," he said as he put the car into drive and pulled off the shoulder.

"What?" Betty exclaimed. "You changed the station forty times while I was driving."

He shrugged and smiled. "It's a new rule."

She shook her head and feigned annoyance as she looked out her window, hiding her smile from him. After a few minutes of listening to him fiddle with the stations, he settled on one that was thankfully bearable and she turned to look at him again.

Being in the passenger's seat gave her an opportunity to study him. God, those little moles peppering his skin were tantalizing, and the way those small unruly tendrils of hair fell in his eyes worked for him. _Really_ worked.

She wondered what it really was about this man that drew her to him. It was more than his looks; she'd met plenty of attractive men over the years who never had this hold over her the way he did. Something about his devil-may-care personality mixed with his bad-boy charm and ability to wind her up then calm her back down again, maybe. She really couldn't put her finger on it just yet.

They had several days to go, still. She was certain it would only be a matter of time before she figured him out.

 **tbc**

 **XoXoX**

 _Please_

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	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER:**

 _I do not own, nor do I profit from, the Archie Comics, the CW Network program 'Riverdale' or the characters therein. They are simply used in the following story for my own entertainment. No copyright infringement intended._

 _ **Thank you to those who have reviewed so far!**_

 **XoXoX**

 **CHAPTER THREE**

It was after midnight when Jughead exited the highway and pulled the car into the lot of a DoubleTree™ Hotel.

They had made it as far as Betty had originally planned, and for that she was grateful. But even with her travel guest behind the wheel allowing her a much-needed break, she hadn't been able to find rest in the car.

Her thoughts had turned to California, and Archie and everything that she was leaving behind. A big part of her was relieved to be getting away from it all, but home wasn't exactly sunshine and daisies either. After all, there was a reason she had moved clear across the country to go to college. She just hoped that things had calmed down since she had left, and that she was simply overthinking everything. Maybe when she walked into her parents' home things would be wonderful and new again. Maybe they could all start over.

At one point during their drive Betty had grabbed a hoodie from the back seat and kept it balled in her hands to keep her fists from clenching. If Jughead had noticed, he thankfully didn't say anything. The last thing she wanted to do was talk about her anxieties with a man she'd met less than six hours ago. That was a whole different kind of baggage than what they were currently hauling in the trunk of the car.

She was exhausted, and more than ready to sink into a real bed and close her eyes.

"Is this okay?" he asked as he pulled into a spot and put the car in park.

She nodded and rolled her window up, grabbing a few things including her overnight back from the back seat and got out. Jughead followed, mirroring her actions, and together they walked into the lobby.

The woman behind the reception desk had been busy playing a game on her phone, and had barely looked up as the exhausted travelers approached. Jughead looked at her and arched a brow, sparing a look at Betty before turning back to her and resting his leather-clad arm on the ledge of the desk.

The receptionist finally looked up and blushed at the sight of the handsome bad-boy before her. Betty narrowed her eyes a bit. Jughead was _her_ handsome stranger—no one else's.

The other woman stood and cleared her throat, typing away at the keyboard to her desktop computer. "How can I help you both?"

"We'd like a room for tonight, please."

Betty's cheeks went hot. "Uh, two rooms, please," she clarified.

Jughead smirked down at her. "What? I was going to get one with two beds."

She shook her head and refused to meet his eyes, knowing she would smile if she looked at him and she did not want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had an effect on her. "I am not sharing a room with you."

He suppressed his smirk and looked back to the receptionist. "She's afraid if we room together, she won't be able to keep her hands off of me." He winked at the lady who blushed an even deeper shade of crimson in response.

Betty rolled her eyes, too tired to care about his shenanigans at this point and in her exhaustion, she was not even going to try and hide her weird. "Can you make my room facing east, not on the ground floor and an even number, if possible?"

Jughead slow-blinked and looked back to the receptionist. "I'd like mine with a bed, toilet and television, if _that's_ at all possible." He grinned, teasing Betty.

The woman behind the desk stood and grabbed two key cards, swiping them through her machine. "I can give you rooms 218 and 220. They're right next to each other."

"Perfect!" Jughead exclaimed. "She likes to be close to me."

Betty wasn't sure if his egomaniacal sense of humor was growing on her or if she was just slap happy from so many hours in the car, but she actually laughed a little.

He looked pleased.

The clerk handed them their key cards along with a warm chocolate chip cookie each. On their way to the elevator Betty offered hers to him. "Want my cookie? I'm not going to eat it."

Jughead took it and slipped the little paper sleeve into his pocket immediately. "Sure, I'll eat you."

Betty's head snapped up. "What did you just say?"

He looked at her, confused. "I said I'd eat yours."

She stared at him for a long moment then shook her head. She really needed to get some sleep…and perhaps a cold shower.

The elevator dinged and the double doors opened. The both of them headed out into the hall and made an immediate left. Betty could feel his eyes on her the entire way down the hall. She'd be lying if she said she didn't roll her hips just a little extra as she walked. If he was going to stare, she was going to give him something to stare at.

There was no harm in that, right?

He stopped with her at her door and watched as she worked the key card into the electronic lock. She sighed as she waited for the little light to flash green and immediately pushed her way into her room, holding the door for him so he could follow her in with her bag.

His chivalry hadn't been lost on Betty; on top of carrying her bag for her, he'd let her in and out of the elevator ahead of him both times. While she knew it was partly because he was checking her out, she could tell it was also just second nature for him. It was attractive. Jughead did have manners to go along with his arrogance.

He looked around the room for a brief moment, setting her duffel bag on the foot of the bed as Betty flipped on the light by the bedside and set her car keys down. The room was simple; a bed, a TV and what he presumed was a closet. By the entryway was the bathroom with a stand-up shower. The room truly was only big enough for one, at the most two, people. He imagined his room was likely identical to this one.

Feeling her eyes on him he turned and pulled his own key card out of his jacket pocket. "What time are we leaving in the morning?" he asked her.

Betty still couldn't get over the _we_ part of this road trip. She wondered if her self-made itinerary would survive or if they would need to come up with new plan. "I was going to get up around seven, maybe grab breakfast somewhere local."

Jughead nodded and made a mental note to set the alarm on his phone. It would be a tough one getting up with her as he was notoriously not a morning person, but he didn't have much choice unless he felt like getting himself a bus ticket back home.

"Alright well, night, Princess," he called out to her as he walked back toward the entryway.

Betty smirked and shook her head at his apparent new nickname for her, and watched as he waved at her over his shoulder. "Goodnight."

When she heard the door latch behind him, she let out an exasperated breath and sat on her bed.

Her first instinct was to whip out her phone and tell her bestie about this random adventure she was now on, and gush about the mysterious man she'd decided to share her travels with. Immediately a wave of nausea and heartache gripped her. The knot in her stomach twisted at the reminder she no longer had that best friend.

The irony was not lost on Betty that had it not been for the situation her former best friend and ex-boyfriend put her in, she wouldn't be making this trip in the first place and would never have met Jughead at all.

Betty's bottom lip quivered and she sat up straight. Taking in a deep breath, she refused to let herself cry. _What's done is done_ , she reminded herself and she licked her lips, rubbed her palms on her thighs and looked around the barren room. She needed to get some sleep if she wanted to be back on the road bright and early.

Standing, she moved to the large window at the side of the room and pulled the curtains open a bit, seeing the few street lamps that were nearby illuminating the empty roads below them. She liked to wake with the sun which was why she always requested an east-facing room. It was a habit when she travelled, but it was a harmless one.

Betty then moved over to her duffel bag and unzipped the main compartment while toeing off her shoes. She grabbed her sleepwear and a smaller makeup bag that had been shoved inside and moved her way over to the bathroom.

Nearly fifteen minutes had passed.

Betty changed out of her clothes and into a plain shirt and shorts to sleep in. She had let her hair down and removed what little makeup she had been wearing. A quick brush of her teeth was followed by an even quicker inspection of the lock on the door and then she was happily slipping into the bed, turning off the bedside lamp as she did so. She took a deep breath in and out as she felt her body sink in to the softness of the mattress.

A knock at the door made her jump in her skin.

Her brow was furrowed as she sat back up and tossed the cover aside, tip toeing her way to the door to look out the peephole. She was instantly surprised, and confused, when she saw there was no one there. She settled back down on the flats of her feet and secured the chain lock—just in case—before starting her way back to the bed.

Another knock.

Betty jumped again and quickly flipped on the overhead light and looked around. The sound hadn't come from the entrance door, but instead was coming from an interior door that she thought was a closet.

It was the door to the room next to hers.

Jugheads room.

She took another deep breath and unfastened the top lock, cracking the door open just enough so that she could see what he wanted, but before she could open her mouth and say anything the sight made her body stop… and tingle.

There he stood, wearing nothing but a towel low on his waist; small water droplets donning his slender but fit frame. He'd just exited the shower by the looks of it.

It took Betty a long moment to realize what he was doing there.

He was holding up a toothbrush and quirking a brow at her through the sliver of open doorway she'd allotted him. "I thought we established I wasn't a serial killer already?"

Betty pursed her lips and opened the door wider. He smiled and she felt her knees begin to weaken.

 _Oh god don't_ , she thought. _Just… why?_

"I think I left my toothpaste in the saddlebag of my bike."

She swallowed hard. "Oh?"

Jughead cocked his head to the side and looked at her incredulously. "Yeah. Can I borrow yours?"

Betty realized then that she must have looked like an idiot, standing there holding the door and staring at him like he had three heads, and snapped herself out of it. "Oh, uh, yeah sure."

She let go of the door and moved aside, trying her hardest not to inhale audibly as he walked by her and let himself into her bathroom.

She really didn't want to be _that girl_ , but it was proving impossible as she could not help but to notice his body as he moved.

His whole upper body was peppered with sexy little moles, and she found herself mesmerized and also jealous of the bits of water that were trickling their way down to the towel that was secured around his waist. His chest was hairless, but the small trail of dark hairs beneath his navel were tantalizing.

His upper arm was donned with a tattoo that she hadn't noticed before; a snake tattoo in the shape of an S. It was naggingly familiar and she wondered briefly if there was any correlation between it and the crystal charm he'd replaced for her and put in her car. Maybe the fact that she was looking at a snake was why he had noticed her in that rest stop in the first place. Either way, she didn't hate the tattoo.

Unsure of what to do with herself, she leaned against the wall just outside the bathroom door and prayed he hadn't caught her checking him out.

"Jesus," she heard him mutter. "You've got an awful lot of crap in here for just one night." His mouth was full of toothpaste and toothbrush by the time he was reading off her perfume bottle. " _J'adore_ , huh?"

"You break it you buy it," she threatened. That was in no way a cheap bottle of perfume in there.

"Hmmph," she heard before a spitting sound. "That's weird. I'm pretty sure the last thing _you_ broke _I_ bought."

Well, he had her there.

Betty couldn't help but smile and shake her head as she listened to him help himself to her mouthwash. She could hear him picking up and setting down her perfume bottle and various lotions as he gargled and then finally spit. He finished up and emerged from the bathroom and Betty had to force her eyes to stay above his shoulders.

" _J'adore_ ," he repeated to himself as he looked her up and down. "I'll say…"

A wave of heat washed through her from head to toe. His freshly washed hair had been casually finger-brushed and an unruly piece was falling in his dark eyes. Her fingers itched to reach up and push it out of the way so she could gaze at number thirteen with no barriers. She was pretty sure that if she got her hands in his hair, though, she would not be able to pull them away.

She really did not know where these hormones were coming from. She had been with Archie for ages and had never batted an eye at another man. It was almost as if a veil had been lifted now that she was a single woman again. Only, she hadn't been noticing other men or imagining dirty things when in the room with other men. Maybe it was that Jughead was unabashedly comfortable in his own skin or that, so far, he seemed to be the polar opposite of what Archie was.

 _God_ , she was like a cat in heat.

"By the way," he said as he approached her, pointing to himself. "Big, big fan of black lace, in case you wondered."

Betty looked puzzled for half a second before her eyes bulged. She had taken her bra and panties off and left them folded neatly on the bathroom counter.

Jughead smirked and wiggled his toothbrush at her. "Well thanks," he said as he casually moved past her and back towards his own room.

Betty cleared her throat. " _Goodnight_ , Jughead."

"Goodnight Betty."

Damn him and his face.

Betty closed the door behind him and sighed, pressing her palms against it for a long minute before pushing off. She made sure to check the lock twice, but she was unsure if it was for her own safety or _his_.

With a long sigh, she turned the light off and crawled back into the bed. She got herself comfortable and smiled to herself at the image of him, grateful, at the very least, for the distraction he provided.

She lay there in the dark on the cool sheets for several long minutes, imagining her name on his lips growing softer and softer like a soothing lullaby as she began to drift off into dreamland.

Until the knocking came again.

Her eyes shot open.

 _Is he for real?_

She tossed back the covers for a second time and peeled herself out of bed, practically stomping her way over to their conjoined door. She unlocked it and pulled it open with some force, immediately squinting when the harsh light from his fully-lit room invaded her pitch black one.

"You want to watch a movie or something?"

Betty had heard him ask the question but her eyes were busy trying to adjust and evidently her brain could not multitask at this late hour. When her eyes finally did adjust, she found they were focused directly on his underwear.

For the thousandth time that day, she blushed.

She peeled her eyes off of his skin tight black boxer briefs and looked up at his face, finally. "What? Jughead, you're not serious right now…"

"I am one hundred percent serious," he replied. When all she did was stare at him with a puzzled look on her face he went on. "The TV is screwy in my room and I can't fall asleep in complete silence."

Betty closed her eyes, shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I _just_ met you."

Jughead smirked and crossed his arms. "And what better way to get to know someone than sharing a bed with them…"

She dropped her hand to her side with a smack and stared at him for a long moment. She would not, in a hundred thousand years, admit to him that she hated to sleep alone, and that she was certain his presence in the bed next to her would oddly comfort her. Problem was, his current state of undress was also very much working her up and that would be the opposite of restful.

"I am not watching a movie with you in your underwear."

He looked down at himself then looked back at her. "What are we, twelve? I'm covered up…" When Betty looked away uncomfortably and rolled her eyes he relented. "Fine, I'll throw some pants on."

Betty looked into her darkened room and tried to convince herself that agreeing was a terrible idea, but that tiny voice in the back of her head was far too curious, and far too tired, to be logical right now. She nodded.

Jughead quickly retreated into his room and grabbed a pair of long black sweatpants and simultaneously pulled them on as he came back toward her.

She blushed.

He noticed.

"Alright, your turn," he said to her as he followed her back toward the bed.

Betty's face scrunched as she tossed him the remote control to the television. "What?"

"If I can't be in my underwear, then you have to change into a different shirt."

"What's wrong with my shirt?" she asked as she slipped her legs back under the covers.

Jughead moved to the other side of the bed and, thankfully, laid on _top_ of the bedspread. He looked at her and his eyed flicked to her chest as he fluffed a pillow up between his back and the headboard, then looked away and turned the TV on with a wicked grin. "You know what, nothing at all. By all means, keep it on."

With the light from the television illuminating the room she looked down at herself and cringed. Her thin white shirt was doing nothing to hide the fact that she was not wearing anything underneath, and her nipples had been standing at full attention.

In her defense, she had assumed she would be alone when she pulled that one out to wear.

Hastily she pulled the sheet and blanket up over her chest, holding it firm beneath her chin as he chuckled and flipped through their movie options.

They argued for several minutes over what to watch then finally agreed on an old black and white movie. Jughead stayed sitting upright while Betty had nestled herself into her pillows and built a mini pillow-wall between them. Ten minutes into the movie and Betty passed out cold with Jughead laying in the bed beside her.

 **TBC**

 **XoXoX**

 _Please_

 _FAV_ _ **/**_ _FOLLOW_ _ **/**_ _REVIEW_


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER:**

 _I do not own, nor do I profit from, the Archie Comics, the CW Network program 'Riverdale' or the characters therein. They are simply used in the following story for my own entertainment. No copyright infringement intended._

 _ **Thank you to those who have reviewed so far! I hope you all enjoyed a happy and safe New Year!**_

 **XoXoX**

 **CHAPTER FOUR**

The next morning when Betty woke, Jughead was back in his own room. The interconnecting doors had been left open, however, and while her first instinct was to reprimand him for not giving her more privacy, she also knew she had allowed herself to fall asleep next to his half-naked form without a single care for what he could do to her, so complaining about an open door seemed sort of trivial.

She stretched her arms and her legs as she sat up, feeling far more rested than she would have expected given the shenanigans of the day before combined with only a partial night's sleep in a bed that was not her own. She chalked it up to sheer exhaustion and threw the covers back, slipping out from beneath the sheets and moving toward the bathroom.

On her way by the open doors, she heard Jugheads voice from inside his room and slowed down. His voice was hushed, but almost immediately she overheard him telling whoever was on the other end of the call that he would be spending the entire day in New York City. Goosebumps arose on her arms and the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she thought about why he would need to lie about his whereabouts.

Anyone watching from the outside would surely be yelling at her to get the hell out of dodge—that he was bad news and she needed to ditch him and ditch him fast, but her gut told her there was more to his story. She hoped to god she wasn't wrong.

Feeling guilty for eavesdropping and jumping to conclusions, she tiptoed away from the door and over to her bag, pulling out a sensible but comfortable outfit for the day and made her way into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her.

In his room Jughead heard Betty's bathroom door shut and he looked over his shoulder in her general direction. He wondered briefly how long she had been awake, and decided it was time to get moving. "Alright, yep. Okay, bye." He ended the call and tucked his cell into his back pocket.

Taking a deep breath, he moved about his room, grabbing the last few personal items he had brought in with him and shoved them back into his bag. He slipped his feet into his boots but didn't bother tying them, knowing once they got on the road, he'd want them off anyway.

He spared one last glance around his area to be sure he hadn't left anything and moved his way into Betty's. He listened for the sound of her shower and took the opportunity to make himself comfortable on her bed where he had been seated the night before, turning the television on but keeping the volume down low.

Several minutes passed as he idly watched whatever news was on the channel he'd landed on. His mind drifted away from the program and instead went to life back home and everything that was waiting for him there. A knot formed in his gut as he let his head fall back against the headboard.

He knew this was crazy. He had no business pulling anyone else, let alone someone like Betty, into his schemes. It was only a matter of time before she dropped him off and the real world all came rushing back, and the last thing he wanted to do was drag anyone else into his mess. He didn't know Betty well at all, but he knew enough from the last fifteen hours to know that she probably didn't need any more drama in her life.

He'd been so consumed with his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed the water was off or the sounds of her moving around in there. He perked up when he heard the bathroom door open and Betty reentered the room with a start. He couldn't help his amused smile when she put her hand on her chest and stopped in her tracks, on edge.

"God," she breathed before letting her hands fall to her sides with a slap. "What if I had been in a towel or naked? This is _my_ room!"

Jughead stretched and casually folded his hands behind his head, relaxing back against the headboard as he licked his lips. "I was actually counting on it," he lied. He knew there was no way she would have come into her room naked when the adjoining doors were wide open.

Betty bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling and shoved her things into her duffel bag. "I need to put a bell on you so I can keep tabs of your movements," she muttered as she ran her fingers through her damp hair.

Jug waited for her to stand up straight and look at him again before he pointedly arched a brow at her. "Never was into leashes or collars but if that's what gets you going…"

Betty shook her head and slipped her feet into her Keds™. "Oh my god," she laughed him off. "What do you want from me?" she wondered out loud.

Jughead hopped up enthusiastically from his spot and slowly made his way to her side of the bed and very much into her bubble of personal space. "I'm gonna be honest," he started, his voice low and husky. Betty gulped looked up at his demanding presence, doing her best not to inhale his scent as she already knew full well the affect it had on her.

"I am not normally up at this hour, normally I'm warm and spread eagle in the comfort of my bed. So, naturally, I want what every man wants first thing in the morning…"

Betty could feel the redness flood her face, all words and coherent thought lost upon her. She stayed silent and stared back and forth between his number-thirteen eyes.

Jughead shifted his gaze from her eyes to her lips on purpose, loving to tease her even though he'd only just met her. Her breath hitched. He showed mercy.

"Breakfast," he concluded.

Betty blinked and exhaled, gathering her wits back and filling with relief… and just a touch of disappointment.

Jughead smiled and plucked the car keys from her frozen hand, then grabbed her bag along with his own and made his way toward the threshold. "You coming?"

 **x**

They stopped at a diner just down the road from the hotel. Betty looked around at the rugged straight-from-a-western style spot and made herself comfortable in the booth across from her new co-pilot. When the waitress came over, she put in her drink order first.

"I'll have a non-fat three-pump vanilla latte, low foam and extra hot, please."

Jughead narrowed his eyes at her from across the table before turning to the waitress. "Did you get all that?" he asked, humor in his tone. "A hot, two pump chump with extra cream." He shook his head, laughing.

Betty's face grew hot.

Dorothy—as her nametag indicated—didn't look amused. "We just have coffee, regular or decaf," she said monotonously holding a carafe.

"I'll just have a regular black coffee, then," Betty conceded.

"Make that two," Jughead added.

Betty watched as Dorothy poured two steaming cups and looked over her shoulder at the line bell. She looked back to them, nodding. "I'll be back to take your order."

Jughead was chuckling at her as he picked two sugar packets from the placeholder on the table and shook them. She crossed her arms, not amused. "What is so funny?"

Jughead tore open the sugar packets and poured them into his cup. "Did you really think you could order your frou-frou drink in a place like this?"

Betty reddened further. "Who doesn't have lattes? Even McDonalds™ has them!"

He took a tentative sip of the hot liquid. "We'll get you a latte and a Happy Meal™ for dinner then—complete with a toy inside. Will that make you happy?"

Betty scoffed and snatched a menu from his hand, scanning it and ignoring the burning feeling of his eyes on her while she searched for something to order. There was nothing there that she could eat. "Everything here is so greasy."

Jughead hummed into his coffee cup. "Mmm, bacon. A little fat once in a while won't kill you."

Betty closed the menu in a huff and leaned her forearms on the table. "I've already had my monthly allowance of fat—I had fast food yesterday before stopping at the rest stop."

"Monthly allowance?" Jug looked at her skeptically. "Are you serious?"

She nodded. "One cheat meal a month," she shrugged. "And there is not one healthy option on here, not even a fruit parfait. I seriously don't know what to get."

Jughead sat back in the booth and studied her for a long moment, waiting for her to tell him she was joking. She was not. "Don't worry, I'll just order for you."

"What? No."

Jug lifted his finger. "Excuse me, Dot? We're ready to order over here."

Betty watched as the waitress made her way back over with a little smile and pulled out her pad and pen. God, he even had the ability to make that miserable waitress blush.

"What'll it be?"

Betty watched with annoyed curiosity as he pointed to the menu. "I'll have the _Heart Attack on a Platter_. My friend here will just have a side order of plain rye toast, hold the butter."

"Comin' right up," Dorothy nodded before shuffling away.

Betty turned her gaze back to him. "All I'm having is dry toast?"

"No, you'll be eating off my plate in no time, you just haven't realized it yet." Another sip of his coffee. "The toast is merely my way of showing you that you don't really want the things you say you want, and many of the things you deem bad are really those that, deep down, you want the most."

Betty was floored by his cockiness. "Oh really…"

"I see right through you, _Betts_." She blushed at the new nickname. "The harder you try to be good, the more you are starving to be bad. Not only are you going to eat some of my greasy food, but you are also going to eat it with my cock sauce all over it and love it."

"Excuse me? Your _what_?"

Jughead smiled and reached in to his jacket pocket. Pulling out a small red plastic bottle, he set it down on the table between them with a thump. Betty eyed it skeptically, noting the green cap and the rooster on the front.

"Cock sauce," he reiterated. "Also known as sriracha—a Thai chili sauce. I go nowhere without it."

Betty tilted her head, prepared to ask him why and when the hell he'd casually slipped it into his jacket pocket, and also why he didn't just call it _sriracha_ for crying out loud. But before she could, Dorothy returned to their table holding their plates and they each sat back to allow her room to set them down. Betty would have been annoyed if she wasn't so impressed at how quickly she'd turned their order around.

Jugheads plate was piled high with scrambled eggs, peppers, onions, cheese, home fries, sausage links, bacon, Canadian ham and corned beef hash. Hers was as expected, a small boring plate of plain toast. She swallowed down her jealousy.

"Anything else you just wave me down, sweetheart."

Dorothy disappeared and Jughead wasted no time squirting lines of the red sauce across the top of his food. He dug right in, watching Betty through his lashes as she looked at him.

Staring him down, she picked up a piece of her dry toast and crunched into it with an exaggerated bite, determined to keep herself from wanting so much as a taste from his plate. Admittedly, she was famished, and the sight before her made her stomach rumble. He chuckled at her antics just as a ray of sun streamed through the window accentuating number thirteen again and her insides tingled.

 _Fuck_.

His voice snapped her away from her fledgling dirty thoughts. "You know you want it, Betty."

 _Shit_ , did he catch her checking him out again? _Oh, right… the food_.

He cut a sausage link in half and attempted to feed her with his fork as he flashed a sexy smirk. "Come on, just one piece?"

He waved it around, wafting the savory scent her way. It smelled spicy… and delicious.

Unable to resist, Betty opened her mouth and let him feed it to her; as if that was the most natural thing in the world for them. His smirk faltered when she made eye contact with him, her face contorting in pleasure. "Mmm," she hummed as she chewed the juicy link slowly, closing her eyes and savoring every bite. When she opened her eyes, Jugheads gaze was fixated on her lips.

She watched as he used some effort to swallow, his adams apple bobbing up and down. "Do you want more?" His hushed voice was husky.

Saliva gathered in Betty's mouth. "Yes." This time, he lifted a piece of bacon and fed it to her with his hand. Betty hated to admit it, but he was right about his special sauce. So far it was good on everything.

"More?" he asked once she swallowed that down.

She licked her lips and nodded. "Yeah."

Jughead fed her three more bites. When Betty accidentally let out a little moan he dropped his fork, making a loud clanking sound as he gathered himself. "Jesus Christ," he muttered. "The food is good but it's not that good."

Betty's mouth was full, and she struggled to chew and swallow it all down. "What do you mean?"

"When was the last time you were really good and rooted?"

She wiped at the corner of her mouth with her finger. "Rooted? What?"

"Fucked, princess. When was the last time you were properly fucked?"

Betty coughed and leaned forward, lowering her voice and praying to god he would lower his. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"There is no way you could possibly have _that_ kind of reaction to food unless you were completely hard up." He leaned back and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Archie didn't quite do it for you, did he?"

Betty sat up straight again, glaring at him. "That is none of your business."

He found amusement in her discomfort. "Your face is redder than the sauce right now." He leaned in and whispered. "Betty… when was the last time you had an orgasm during sex?"

"Oh my god," she sighed.

"Tell me."

"No!"

"Tell me."

"It doesn't matter," she pleaded.

His tone became more insistent. "How _long_ … has it been?"

"Will you please give it up?"

"How long, Betty?" he asked, his voice getting louder. She feared he would go up an octave each time he had to repeat the question until she gave him what he wanted and just answered.

Betty looked around to be sure no one was looking at them or listening in on their conversation. "High school," she practically coughed out and her face burned with embarrassment. _Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod._ _What the hell did I just admit?_

She buried her face in her hands. "I cannot believe I just told you that. I'm mortified."

Jughead let out a deep breath and shook his head. "Don't be, but I'm not going to lie; I am shocked."

She scoffed and crossed one arm in front of her body, reaching out and angrily taking another bite of dry toast with the other.

"A woman like you should be with a man who knows what he is doing."

Betty looked at him skeptically. Again. "What does that mean… a woman like me? I was really under the impression you don't like me very much."

Jughead sat back in the booth and stared out the window for several long moments. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he shifted his eyes back to her. "As much as you've been a pain in my ass, I _do_ like you Betty."

She felt her face warm again and her stomach clenched with excitement.

"You're funny, you're conscientious, you're quick-witted and smart. You're damn cute…" He looked away again as if to stop himself from finishing his thought. Bettys heart was hammering away in her chest when his eyes met hers again. "What happened anyway?"

"With what?"

His scowl was growing on her, and the way he sat back with his arms crossed in front of him and that rebellious tendril of black hair hanging in his eyes was affecting her. "Why are you running from that ass Archie?"

Betty was taken aback, and in her hesitation to answer he flagged down Dorothy.

"Can we have another cup, Dot?"

Betty waited for the older woman to top off both their cups, and watched as she exchanged smiles with Jug and walked away. She didn't know what was coming over her—maybe it was the hot sauce—but a part of her just wanted, _needed_ , to let it all out.

"Archie and I were high school sweethearts. He was the football star, I was the cheerleader, we were _that_ couple. When it came time to apply to colleges, I was eager to get away from home and applied out west. He was always supportive of what I wanted to do and decided to apply with me so that he could go where I went. I was elated."

Jugheads intense eyes watched her as she took a deep breath and poked at another sausage link with her fork.

"Things were good at first, but changed gradually over the years. He wasn't loving college and decided to get a day job instead. My studies kept me on campus long hours and I also worked a part time job in the evenings so we could afford to live together off-campus." She paused for a long moment. "We started to grow apart, and while it killed me to watch it happen, I didn't know how to stop it." She licked her lips and willed her bottom lip to stop quivering as she continued. "I met this girl at the beginning of last year and she and I had gotten close. For the first time in forever I had a bestie," she smiled sadly. "Then I introduced her to Archie."

Understanding washed over Jugs face as Betty painted the picture for him and realization began to dawn.

"Suddenly Archie was making more of an effort to be around again and he was more and more like his old self. I was blissfully unaware of what was happening all around me."

Jughead fought the urge to reach across and grab her hand. He wanted to soothe away the ache that was so clear and present in her.

"About three weeks ago I wasn't feeling well and came home from my internship early. I found them scrambling to get re-dressed in the bedroom that Archie and I shared."

Jughead nodded and looked at her with empathy. She shrugged under his gaze and smiled sadly at him.

"So, you moved out?"

Betty nodded. "Arch has spent every day of the last three weeks trying to convince me that it was a meaningless urge and that I'm making a huge mistake throwing away years of a relationship built of friendship and love." She stared at the plain white coffee mug for a long moment, her face contorting to one of anger the longer she looked at it.

"He's the one who threw it away, the second he chose to cheat. If he wasn't happy, he should have had the balls to say something to me before putting me in the position to find him that way, and with Veronica of all people! My best friend! It was a one-two punch and I had no one to turn to. Now I'm packing up and moving home where at least I'll have my sister if nothing else," she said, finally looking up at him. "I'm lost."

Jugheads eyes held a serious intensity that she hadn't previously seen in them. He leaned forward onto the table. "What are you passionate about, princess?"

Betty thought for a bit. "Not much," she shrugged. "I have a law degree," she confessed, eliciting a surprised expression from him. "But that was really all my mothers doing. I like criminal investigation, journalism… and animals," she chuckled.

Jugheads scowl twisted into a small smile and his face relaxed. "Animals, huh?"

She nodded and looked down at her fidgeting hands. "They're cute and wholly unable to tell us what they need, I don't know. Sometimes I want to be their voice. They tug at my heartstrings."

He took a deep breath. "You'll find your way. You will. All the shit that happened in Cali is still too fresh for you to think straight. When you get back to New York, back to your roots, the change of environment will do you good. You can take your time, look inside of yourself and decide what it is you really want, then create a plan and make it happen. You're in control of your own destiny, Betty."

Betty looked at him, searching his face for answers to questions that hadn't even been asked yet. He could feel her need for recovery and was understanding more, little by little, why she was so irritable.

"Except for the next twenty-four hours. I'm in control of your destiny for now," he teased. The corners of Bettys mouth upturned into a small smile which made him smile in return. "You're stuck with me whether you like it or not, Cooper."

She nodded. "I guess I am."

Jughead was starting to grow on her, and admittedly, that made her a little uneasy. She had just spilled her guts to him and yet she knew nothing of him in return. They were hours into their drive together before she finally learned his name, and even yet, she doesn't know his _real_ name.

"Your turn," she said talking another long sip of her coffee. "Who are you, Jughead Jones?"

He smiled and picked at another piece of stray food on his plate. "Well, I lived in Toledo, Ohio until I was five. My dad was… _reassigned_ to New York State and so we packed up and moved with him."

Betty studied the way his face moved while he talked. "We?"

He nodded. "Me, my mom, and my younger sister. We got a new place and kind of started over."

"That sounds nice," she smiled.

"It was for a while… until it wasn't anymore." He brushed his hands clean of any crumbs and sat back in the booth, his expression changing to a sullen one.

"Why is that?"

"It's a long story."

Betty was about to give him the old, _we've got time to kill_ , retort but he was saved by the buzzing of her cell on the table top. She grabbed the device and tilted it toward her so she could see the screen. It was Archie. She lifted her eyes to find Jugheads questioning her, so she turned the phone around and showed him the caller I.D.

Jughead reached across the table and plucked the phone from her grasp, his eyes not leaving hers as he swiped to answer. "Archibald, my good buddy, it's been a while!"

Archie's voice was muffled by Jug's ear against the receiver. "Put Betty on the phone."

"Betty and I were just talking about you. We are out to breakfast and she picks up one of these little sausage links and says to me, 'See this here? This is just about Archie's size.'"

Betty placed her hand over mouth to keep from snorting in laughter. She could hear her ex's irritated garble through the phone. "Tell Betty if she's going to be taking up with trash like you—"

Jughead ended the call and calmly handed the phone back to Betty. "Ready to go?"

Betty was still processing the call when she slipped her phone into her pocket and let out a small laugh. "That was amazing."

Jughead's satisfied smirk stuck in her brain as she watched him pull some bills out of his wallet and laid them down on the table. "Hit him where it hurts, Betts," he smiled to her as he slid from the booth. She took his proffered hand and scooted out of her side as well, sashaying her hips just a little as he waited to follow her toward the door.

"Bye Dot," Jug waved at their waitress from the threshold.

"Bye hot stuff!"

Betty rolled her eyes and laughed, pushing open the door and heading toward the car. Today's drive was definitely looking up.

 **TBC**

 **XoXoX**

 _Please_

 _FAV_ _ **/**_ _FOLLOW_ _ **/**_ _REVIEW_


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER:**

 _I do not own, nor do I profit from, the Archie Comics, the CW Network program 'Riverdale' or the characters therein. They are simply used in the following story for my own entertainment. No copyright infringement intended._

 _Hi gang! I want to extend a shout-out to all of my readers and reviewers. I am genuinely tickled that you are enjoying this one so much! I can't thank you enough for your support and words of encouragement. I'm sorry to make you wait so long for this update—the holidays are no joke! But I'm back on the wagon and *fingers crossed* won't be slowing down anytime soon. I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

 **XoXoX**

 **CHAPTER FIVE**

It was a beautiful, clear day on the road.

Betty had told Jughead she wanted to drive the first leg and he had graciously agreed, something she was slightly surprised by. It wasn't until he promptly made himself comfortable and closed his eyes for a post-breakfast nap that she realized why he'd been so agreeable. Upon seeing him snuggled down into the passengers seat and hearing his lights snores she rolled her eyes and chuckled to herself.

In all honesty, she needed a break from staring at his eyes and peppery little moles for a while. Being forced to focus on the road was a welcome distraction.

Her unwanted attraction toward him was beginning to make her truly uncomfortable, in the best of ways, and with his sudden kindness and flattering words she found she found her feelings towards him starting to morph. She needed to nip that in the bud, and fast. There was no time for disruptions when she needed to just get home and get her new-old life started again.

The man next to her had a whole life of his own somewhere else, and while she couldn't see why he wouldn't fit into her new one, she also knew she was too fresh off of a relationship to be thinking clearly. She was too vulnerable.

Sighing to herself, she pulled off the highway and into a service station. They needed gas and she was still in need of that tire repair, so she was relieved when the change in motion seemed to rouse Jughead from his peaceful little sleep.

Without so many words, he sat himself up straight and followed Bettys gaze as she nodded toward the mechanic walking toward them. He nodded and got out of the car, meeting the man halfway. When they both looked her way and waved her forward, she put the car back into drive and followed the men under the car port at the side of the mini-mart.

Fifteen minutes later Betty paid the man for her two new tires and shook his hand, thanking him. Her father had always taught her that tires should be bought in pairs, so she had the mechanic ditch her old spare and make one of her old tires the new one. He even did all the labor for free, only charged her for the tires.

Jughead had gone into the mini mart to get some snacks for the road as Betty finished arranging her things in her trunk again. Once she was done, she sat back in the driver's seat and took a deep breath, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow. They were farther north-east now, but it was still August and the slightest effort made her break into a sweat.

Jughead emerged from the store and made his way toward her. He slipped into his seat and closed the passengers side door. When Betty saw him, she froze and her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. He had white powder under his nose.

 _Shit_ , she thought. _Was he a coke-addict? Did he go into the bathroom just now and snort it?_ Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed him staring at her.

"Are you going to start the car sometime today, or?"

Her breathing was labored as she geared herself up for utter disappointment.

Jughead narrowed his eyes at her, setting the Big Gulp he'd purchased for them to share in the cupholder and snapping his finger in front of her. "Earth to Betty… What's wrong with you?"

Betty raised her chin up and gripped the steering wheel. "Tell me the truth."

Jughead tilted his head a little and scoffed. "Alright…"

"Were you doing drugs in the bathroom?"

His eyes immediately darkened, and he waited in hopes that perhaps she was joking. It was quickly evident that she was not. "What the fuck?" He was angry. "Why would you ask me that?"

"Because, Jug, you have powder under your nose!"

He swiped at the area beneath his nose and looked at his fingers. He closed his eyes for a brief moment then suddenly erupted into laughter.

Betty sat, confused as she watched him for at least a full uninterrupted minute. She had never seen him laugh that hard in the short time she'd known him. If she wasn't so freaked about the impending conversation she would have taken the time to admire how handsome he was when he was laughing—really laughing and smiling.

He would try to speak but when he would look at her, he would lose it all over again, clutching at his chest to try and calm himself. Finally, he took his hand and wiped away the rest of the powder above his lip, looking at it on the back of his hand and giggling again.

He looked at her again and this time shoved his hand into her face. "Here, taste."

Betty practically jumped back as she slapped his hand away. "No!"

"Taste!" he nudged her upper lip with the very spot on his hand that was tainted.

Betty tentatively touched the very tip of her tongue to it. It tasted like Kool-Aid™. "Its… its sweet."

Jughead shook his head and opened the paper bag. He pulled out a large stash of Pixie Stix™ and handed one to her. "Your cocaine, madam."

Relief washed over her like a tidal wave. "Pixie Stix™, really? You like these?"

"Love them, actually."

"How old are you?"

"Says the woman who was eating a Lunchable™ when I met her…"

Betty smiled now, looking at the skinny tube in her hand. "This is pure sugar. I haven't eaten one of these since I was a kid."

"These were pivotal in my campaign to quit smoking. Now I'm hooked on these and only these." He looked down, his smile eventually faltering and his brows knitting together. "I can't believe you thought I was snorting coke. I'm not perfect by any means, but I've never done hard drugs in my entire life."

The smile quickly dropped from Betty's face as guilt began to take her over. She still hadn't started the car. "I am sorry for jumping to conclusions," she said with a sigh. "But to be fair, I still don't know you at all."

He looked at her softly. "So, get to know me."

The two of them stared at each other in silence for a while before Betty finally broke and began to ask questions. "Why are you going to New York?"

Jughead placed his candy back into the brown paper bag and rolled it shut, stuffing it onto the floor between his feet. "I live there."

Betty knew what she really wanted to ask; she just wasn't sure why it mattered to her so much. Her heart began to pound. "Who were you speaking to on the phone this morning?"

He looked startled by her question. "What?"

Betty took a deep breath. "I overheard part of your conversation from my room. You were telling someone your plans for the day." She moved her head to catch his eyes. "You lied and said you would be in the city all day."

Jughead looked away from her, idly chewing on the skin by his fingernails as he gazed out the window. "It's complicated, Betty."

He didn't turn back around to face her, but stayed staring out the window and instead slumped in his seat with his arms crossed in front of him. It was evident that he did not plan to elaborate more on that bomb.

"Well, this was a good conversation, I'm glad I asked," Betty said bitterly. She finally started the car and pulled back out into the highway.

They sat in silence for a long while. Jughead seemed tense and ultimately sucked down a countless number of Pixy Stix™. After about half an hour, Betty couldn't take the silence anymore and finally broke the ice. "How do you keep your body like that eating the way that your do?"

He finally turned his face toward her and the cocky smirk made her regret the question instantly.

"Is that your way of saying that you like my body, Betty? You like what you see?"

Her face flushed but she smiled none the less. "I didn't say that… exactly."

"Not exactly but you implied it."

"Jackass," she chuckled, taking a sip of soda.

He sat up in his seat. "Lots and lots of sex, Betty. That's how I do it."

"Really," she said skeptically. "That's it?"

Jughead smiled. "No, I just wanted to see your face turn that pretty shade of pink it does when you're embarrassed," he snickered. "To answer your question, Betts, I work out a lot. And I don't eat like this," he said indicating the sugar snacks, "every day. Road trips, though, are a dietary exception. You need to be able to eat what you want to stay sane."

"Well, from what I see, you are pretty insane so I'd say it's not working."

Jughead smiled at her, and she returned it. The tense aftermath of their previous conversation seemed to have finally faded away.

"Hand me a little bag of veggie chips, will you?" she asked. "They're behind your seat."

Jughead turned and looked at the piles of bags and boxes in the back and spotted the plastic bag of goodies on top of some other things. He moved to grab the whole bag and bring it up front to him but the bag handle caught on another tote bag and dumped its contents onto the floor.

"Shit, sorry," Jughead mumbled as he dropped the snacks onto the floor by his feet and twisted to pick up what he had knocked over.

Betty's face drained of color as she heard a familiar buzzing noise from the back seat. "Oh, you know what, you can just leave it its fine I'll fix it next time we stop." When he didn't stop, she began to frantically tap him on the shoulder while trying her hardest to concentrate on the road. "Really, you can leave it. Here, find something good on the radio…"

Jughead picked up the now empty tote and looked at everything splayed out on the backseat floor. "Ooo, a book," he said as he lifted it and checked the title. "Fifty Shades, how cliché." He tossed it back into the tote.

Betty winced as she fought between wanting to grab his shoulder and throw him back into his seat and also not wanting to seem desperate.

"What. Is. This. Betty, my my…"

 _Fuck_.

He _tsk_ ed as he pulled up her flesh-colored lifelike vibrator and sat back in his seat. "Princess, is this a silicone cock you had hidden away in that special black bag? No wonder you didn't mind that Archie couldn't do it for you." He dragged his gaze from the vibrator to her beat-red face. "You were taking it into your own hands and into your own—"

"Give me that!" she swooped at it but he pulled it out of her reach.

"This thing is pathetic; we could do a lot better than this…"

" _Jughead_ … seriously. It's not funny. Hand it over… _now_."

"Its nothing to be ashamed of, Betts. We all pleasure ourselves."

The events that followed happened in quick succession. Jughead had kept waving the dildo around as Betty tried to grab it. A truck driver passing had noticed and honked at them; the car was swerving. Betty glanced forward and that was when she saw it; standing there in the middle of her lane like a deer in headlights. She gasped and slammed on the brakes, cutting the wheel hard to the right and kicking up a cloud of dirt. She remembered hearing Jughead cursing in the seat next to her just before a loud crack and then he was silent. As the car came to a hard stop at an angle in the road and she was thrown hard into her seat, she did not know if she had killed him.

 **x**

"It he breathing?"

Betty held her own breath as she hovered over Jugheads shoulder, watching and gasping a sigh of relieve when she finally saw the rise and fall of his little stomach. The poor pup was just a baby; one she'd just raced into with her car while fighting over a damn vibrator.

At first Betty didn't think she'd actually hit him, but then she watched in horror as the thing fell right over with a whimper loud enough that she could hear it over the screeching tires. The whole thing had felt like something out of a heart-wrenching movie. Now they were both standing over him waiting for something to happen, neither of them sure what to do.

Without warning, the dogs eyes opened and he moved to sit upright. Startled, they both jumped back and Jugheads arms spanned wide as if to protect Betty from a killer beast.

The dog, not much bigger than a cat, stood and took a few cautious steps, then proceeded to walk right up to the front end of Bettys car and bonked his head as if the large mass of steel wasn't even there.

"Oh my god," Betty said, her hands on her cheeks. "I must have hurt his head. Look how confused the poor thing is!" She moved to touch the wounded animal but Jughead grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to pick him up," she breathed. "Look at him! I ran him over!" Betty skirted around Jughead and bent down on one knee, extending her hand in peace to the sweet little animal before shooting daggers at him with her eyes. "And it's all your fault!"

He stood back, aghast. "My fault?"

"Yes! Your fault! If you hadn't been distracting me, I would have been paying more attention to the road, and this would never have happened." The dog nuzzled into her hand. "Oh my god, look how cute he is." She petted the top of his head and he snuggled closer to her.

"It is not my fault. If you weren't so uptight about your sexuality, you would have been calm when I found your magic wand instead of frantic and prude."

Betty stopped petting the dogs head. "I am _not_ uptight about my sexuality."

Jughead folded his arms across his chest. "Admit that your pleasure yourself, then. I want to hear you say it."

Betty looked straight forward. "I will do no such thing."

"Uptight."

"Pervert."

"A pervert is someone who has sexual behavior that is wrong or unacceptable. That's your problem. You think pleasuring yourself is wrong. I find it perfectly acceptable. In fact, I rather like the thought of you using your little magic wand."

Betty was certain her eyes resembled those of the poor puppy's—bulging from her head in shock, but before she could even attempt to gather her thoughts a truck whizzed by them on the side of the road. It was one of those double-trailered ones that made her nervous to drive next to, and it reminded her of how close to the road they actually were.

Jughead let out a sigh and moved closer to where she was crouched next to the dog. "Come on, it's dangerous out here."

Betty looked up at him. "What are we doing to do with Dusty?"

"Who?"

"Him!" she scratched her nails behind the dog's ear and he made a low humming noise that sounded like _mom_.

"Let him go," Jughead waved his arm in the direction of the wooded area off to the side of the road. "Back where he came from. He's fine."

"He's not fine."

"Looks fine to me."

"I think he's in shock."

Jughead shook his head. "He's fine, watch." He clapped his hands and whistled to call him. "Come on buddy, this way."

The pup made no effort to move, quite content with his head pressed against Bettys chest and his body between her legs.

"You need to let go of him."

"I'm not holding him here."

"Not physically, but he's got his head buried in your cleavage and his body between your thighs. No male is going to walk away from that willfully."

"See. Told you. Pervert."

Another truck flew past. This time the driver sat on the horn as he breezed by, and Betty went from squatting to tumbling back on her ass into the dirt. The dog whimpered and nuzzled into her more, pushing her even further back and she could feel his whole body shaking. "Come on, Jug. I can't leave him."

"What do you expect us to do for him? Strap him into the back seat of the car and take him to the vet for a full work up?"

 **x**

They'd been in the car nearly ten hours; a two-hour detour to a free animal clinic to check out the dog notwithstanding. Jughead was driving, and their new passenger was sound asleep in the back seat, actually snoring. Betty wasn't sure she'd ever heard a dog snore before, but it was decidedly cute as she looked at the freshly bathed fluffy animal. "We should stop soon," Betty yawned, once again facing forward. "It might take a while to find a hotel that allows pets."

Jugheads eyebrows shot up. "Unless the first hotel we find accepts pets he's staying in the car tonight, Betty."

Bettys head snapped in his direction as she searched his face for any hint of kidding around. It quickly became clear that he was not. Her jaw dropped as she looked at him. "He most certainly is not. He cannot stay locked in a car overnight."

"Why not?"

"Animal cruelty for one thing…"

"It is not too hot, or cold for that matter, to leave him sleeping comfortably in the back seat. We can leave the window cracked for fresh—"

"ALSO, because…" she was getting angry that he was so ready to leave the little dog alone all night without so much as a blink of the eye. "What if he gets scared?"

"Then he'll cry himself to sleep," he joked. When he could see she was not amused, he wavered. "Come on, Betty. Take a joke. Your being uptight is what got us into this mess in the first place."

Betty shook her head and let out a frustrated grunt, annoyed that this topic came back around again. "I pleasure myself, okay? Does that make you happy? I have a vibrator and I use it to pleasure myself from time to time. Just about every woman does, by the way, whether she's single or not, so just stop, okay?"

She glared for a long moment then turned and looked out the window with a huff.

Jughead grinned. "As a matter of fact, it does." He shrugged. "I pleasure myself too, Betty. In fact, the next time I rub one out, I'm going to picture you."

Betty turned to chastise him in her retort but found herself at a loss for words. She meant to look disgusted but, try hard as she might, she could not hide the smile in her scowl.

Jughead glanced over at her then back to the darkened road. "Well, well, well, whattaya know. You like the idea of me pleasuring myself to your pretty face."

"I do not."

"You do too."

"I don't." She definitely did.

After a tense staring contest, Jughead finally let it drop. They drove a couple more miles before exiting the highway and following a main road. Finally, he put the cars signal on and pulled into a parking lot of a Cabela's, The World's Foremost Outfitters™. Betty was confused.

"What are you doing? What are we stopping here for?"

Jughead gave her the side-eye as he pulled into a parking spot and cut the engine. "Supplies," he said cryptically. "I'll be back in ten… you stay with the mutt so no one steals him."

"Supplies for wh—"

The car door slammed shut before she could finish her question, and she fought the urge to flip off Jugheads retreating form, but instead was quickly distracted by his denim-clad ass as he entered through the store's automatic doors.

Angry with herself for staring, she shook her head and looked back at the now sleepy-eyed and confused canine. "How many more hours do we need to endure this, huh?"

It took Jughead about fifteen minutes to reappear, and in the time he was gone Betty had decided it would be a good opportunity to get up and, quite literally, stretch her legs… and other body parts. His forward movement slowed a bit as he watched her move from one side to the other, the muscles in her legs and sides flexing as she reached one arm straight into the air and brushed the pavement below her with the fingertips of her opposite hand.

"What is all that?" Betty asked, still in her sideways stretched position next to the car, finishing out the last few seconds of her _triangel_.

He didn't respond right away, and Betty was too busy morphing into her downward-dog, now bent perfectly forward towards him, to notice. But when she finally lifted her head to see what was with the silent treatment, she saw he was looking directly down her shirt.

It wasn't his fault, exactly. In her attempt to stretch out her vertebrae she had essentially put her chest on display right before his very eyes. Although she was wearing a modest bra, her shirt had gaped in the front, giving him an eyeful of cleavage in her bent-over state.

Realizing what was happening, she quickly abandoned her routine and stood up straight, her cheeks tinged with pink. Their eyes locked, and she couldn't have helped the smirk if she'd tried.

Jughead cleared his throat and tore his eyes away, his cheeks too tinged with a bit of pink, wondering if it would have been better for him or worse had her backside been facing him instead of her front.

Betty hadn't missed his blush, and smiled triumphantly as she smoothed herself back out and nodded her head toward his arms-ful of things.

"Gear," he finally answered her previously forgotten question, moving to the trunk and fumbling with the keys.

"What kind of gear?" she pressed, her hands on her hips.

Jughead opened the trunk and shoved the new items into each and every open space he could find. "Tent, lantern, kindling wood, sleeping bags." He closed the trunk with a thud. "Basic camping supplies."

Betty watched him from over the top of the car as he made his way back to the drivers side and she the passengers. "For what?"

He stopped and deadpanned. "Camping."

"You're going camping?"

He shook his head and slid into the seat, Betty following suit. " _We're_ going camping. You, me, and your new friend," he said pointing his thumb toward the back seat.

Betty began to panic inside. "I… don't camp."

Jughead stopped with his hand on the keys at the ignition. "Then Old Yeller back there is sleeping in the car."

She stared at him for a long moment.

"What's it going to be, princess? Camping -and you just trust me- or he's sleeping in the car, alone."

Betty looked between him and the sweet puppy face that had popped its way between them. She reached up with her left hand and the dog immediately nuzzled its head into her waiting hand, and she knew she was going camping. There was a first time for everything, right?

 **x**

"I take it you've done this before?"

They had only been at the campsite for half an hour and already Jughead had started a fire and was nearly done pitching the first tent. Betty was impressed, though if she was being honest, she had nothing to measure by.

"Every summer with my family," Jughead confirmed. "My dad took me camping every year when I was young. Then when my sister got a little older, the whole family would go. Best memories of my life," he smiled as he clicked two rods together and lifted the tent to its full upright position. "And it wasn't fake-camping like this, either."

Betty smiled and poked the fire with a stick, petting the dog with her free hand.

"No numbered campsites, no bathrooms or security. We did real camping." He brushed his hands together and stood back to look at his handiwork. "What about you?" he asked. "What soured you to camping?"

Betty shrugged. "Nothing, I've just never done it before. Mom hated it and dad never seemed to have interest. Our family vacations usually involved us flying somewhere warm to visit a grandparent or staying on a resort."

Jughead unzipped the front entrance of the tent and motioned for Betty to look inside, so she did.

"That tent is huge," Betty awed.

Jughead smirked. "Not the first time I've heard that."

Betty rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored him. "Why did you buy such big tents?"

"Tents?" he asked distractedly as he swatted at a mosquito that was humming around his face. "As in, plural?"

Betty felt the heat rise up in her cheeks again and she grew anxious. She stood upright and went back to the fireside. "You only bought one tent?"

He moved over to his ruck sack and pulled out another Pixie Stick, quickly unfolding the end and shaking some of the sugary substance into his mouth. "This one has two rooms," he clarified. "There's a divider down the middle. You and the mongrel can sleep on one side, I'll sleep on the other."

Betty didn't exactly have any right to complain considering he had done all the work so far and paid for all the supplies, so she opted to keep her mouth shut.

Instead they munched on what would normally be a months-worth of carbs and sat around the fire as the sun went down. Jughead peeled a stick with a pocketknife and popped a marshmallow on the end before offering it to Betty. She couldn't help but smile. He really was good at this stuff.

"So, I'll be sharing a tent with you tonight… we adopted a dog together… and yet, I still don't know what you do for a living?"

Jughead laid himself on his side, his front half facing the fire as he looked between Betty and the flickering flames. He was quiet for a long moment, pondering something, she could tell. "I guess you could say I'm retired."

"Retired? At, what did you say you were? Twenty-four?"

"Twenty-five."

"Oh, well then definitely retire before you get too old to enjoy life ," she jested. Jughead stayed quiet.

It was dark, even with the light of the fire. Betty lifted her roasted marshmallow to check it. It was perfectly golden brown on one side, but the other was still white.

"So, are you going to tell me what you retired from, or..?" she prodded.

Jughead took a deep breath and linked his fingers together, leaning back and looking up at the sky through the clearing in the trees above them. "Writing."

Betty was taken aback, not at all expecting that answer. "You did it professionally?"

"I guess you could say that."

"What did you write?"

"Fiction novels. Angst, drama, that sort of thing."

Betty was honestly shocked. "Why are you stopping?"

He turned his head and looked at her, a strange look in his eyes that Betty couldn't quite place. Sadness? Regret?

"You never really stop, I guess. But what I was doing before—that chapter of my life, no pun intended, is over now."

"Well, what will you do now?"

Jughead sat up, his shoulders slumped a bit. "Not sure yet. I guess this trip was supposed to help me find that out but, so far no such luck."

Betty was tiring of his vague responses, and itched to know more about him. She was getting antsy, and so she scooted closer to the edge of her log-seat and smiled sweetly at him. "Can I be nosey?"

"You mean _more_ nosey?" he teased.

"You're the one who told me to get to know you! Before you made me almost make road-kill out of Puppers over here."

"First of all, you didn't hit him, just came very very close to it. Secondly, his name is not _Puppers_. If you're going to keep him, at least start thinking of a more original name."

Betty opened her mouth to argue but noticed her marshmallow was on fire. Quickly, she pulled it out and blew on it, then carefully slipped it off of the stick and took a bite. The almost liquefied center stuck to her fingers in sticky white strands and she used her tongue to dislodge some of it. "Mmm, I haven't had a marshmallow in years," she giggled, catching Jugheads eye over the fire. "You want some?" she offered.

Jughead shook his head slowly and inhaled a deep breath.

Betty scowled as she sucked the confection off another finger. "Why not? You're the sugar addict here."

"Trust me," he smirked. "I get much more enjoyment watching you eat it than I would eating it myself," he swallowed.

The sight of his adams apple bobbing made Betty warm inside, and it had nothing to do with the fire. She sat there for a moment, oozing over the way he was casually laying on his side, one knee bent toward the sky, his dark hair flopped carelessly to one side. And his eyes, the way his eyes looked completely black from this side of the fire, and the way they were fixated on not only the gooey marshmallow in her hand, but on her mouth as she continued to eat away at it. His chest rose and fell with each breath he took and she couldn't take the heavy silence anymore.

"Anyway," she squeaked, her voice betraying her. "If you're retired will you still make money off your novels?"

Jughead seemed to snap out of the trance he was in and nodded, keeping his eyes off of her for the time being. "Yeah there are still royalties, posters and merchandise; that sort of thing."

"Merchandise," she said, surprised. "Would I know your work?"

"Haven't we talked about me enough? Archies been pretty quiet today, huh?"

"Oh no, not a chance, asshole. You blew me off once and I let you off the hook." She gave him a pointed stare. "Not this time."

As it turned out, he was a ghost writer for a very well-known series, and his works were some of the most well received to date. Betty was impressed, as well as a little bit embarrassed that she did not actually know of the series until then, but she was intrigued and would likely look them up once she got settled back in New York. Betty couldn't help but smile; there was something so endearing about how bashful Jughead was about the whole thing.

After a few more hours of sitting around the fire, they decided to call it a night. Jughead set up Betty's sleeping bag for her then zipped the divider shut, effectively separating them into two rooms as promised. He left her with the lantern so she could get changed first.

Her clothes smelled like campfire, so she opted to strip everything off so she wouldn't soil the sleeping bag. As she got down to her last layer, she felt excitement bubble within her. There was something so scandalous about being naked with only a thin excuse for a wall between them. She may or may not have lingered just a little longer than necessary when she slipped a fresh pair of panties and a sports bra on. When she was all done, she unzipped the corner of the divider and handed the little lantern to Jug.

He gave her a sly grin but said nothing as he took the lantern and zipped the barrier closed again. Betty's side of the tent went dark, but as she climbed into her sleeping bag and looked up she realized she could now see everything on his side. It was only a shadow, but it was a very detailed shadow at that.

He was facing her, standing very still. She wasn't certain, but it felt as if he was staring right at her through the thin material. It was impossible to see her through the vinyl divider, but she could sense his eyes on her nonetheless.

Jughead reached down to the hem of his shirt and slowly lifted it over his head. The shadow of his body was broad at the shoulders but tapered to a narrow waist. Even though she could not see the detail, she envisioned what she knew was there. The ridges of his abs, the hard plains of that V and the course, dark hairs that dragged your eyes right down into the waistband of his black jeans.

Betty's mouth was suddenly dry.

He stood there again for a long moment and then began to strip out of his pants. The sound from the slow unzip of his jeans made the hair on the back on her neck stand on end. His thighs were thicker than his day-clothes let on; his boxer briefs hugged his legs like a second skin.

Betty held her breath when his thumbs hooked into the waistband of his boxers, and he began to peel them off his body. He bent to slip them all the way off and then stood tall and proud.

 _Holy mother of all cocky bastards._ He was hung. The thing was dangling halfway to his knees!

Betty took a sharp breath in, realized immediately that it was very audible and quickly slapped her hand over her mouth. She kept it there, her heart hammering away in her chest, afraid that a moan might slip out, until he was completely dressed in fresh clothes and settling into his sleeping bag.

She watched as he rolled onto his side and faced her direction, making her wonder if he was looking at her, then finally snuffed out the lantern.

"Night, Betty."

Perhaps she could have been imagining it, but his voice sounded as thick and needy as she felt.

"Goodnight, Jug."

Betty took a deep breath and shut her eyes, attempting to regain her wits. It was then that it dawned on her for the first time… had he just watched her give him the same show and simply… returned the favor?

 **TBC**

 **XoXoX**

 _Does begging for reviews make me desperate? ;-)_

 _Please_

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	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER:**

 _I do not own, nor do I profit from, the Archie Comics, the CW Network program 'Riverdale' or the characters therein. They are simply used in the following story for my own entertainment. No copyright infringement intended._

 _ **This chapter is a little choppy, forgive me.**_

 **XoXoX**

 **CHAPTER SIX**

 _Where am I?_

That was Betty's first thought as she was waking up the following morning. It took her a few seconds as everything registered around her; the hard ground beneath her, the unfamiliar sleeping bag, the sunlight permeating the tent. Everything came back to her then; where she was, why and who with. It was then that she lightly patted the makeshift bed next to her but found only cold tent floor instead.

Where was the dog?

She jumped up out of her sleeping bag. "Jug! Jughead!"

"Hmm," he moaned groggily from behind the divider.

"The dog, he's gone!" A rush of panic tore through her. "Oh my god, he's gone!"

She frantically zipped the divider down without a second thought and before she could register anything, Jug was already trying to calm her down.

"Relax, he's here with me."

The dog let out a single groan as he lifted his head from Jugheads chest as if to confirm her overreaction. Betty's pulse immediately slowed down as she held her hand over her pounding heart. "Oh thank god."

Jughead sat up and ran his hands through her messy hair, blinking when he finally looked up at her. He froze almost instantly. "Jesus Christ, woman. Are you trying to kill me?"

Betty furrowed her brow and looked down at herself. Immediately she backed herself on all fours into her half of the tent, trying but failing to cover herself up. She'd rushed over so fast she'd forgotten that she slept in only her panties and a sad excuse for a sports bra. "Shit, sorry! I was so panicked; I wasn't thinking..."

Utterly embarrassed, and yet secretly pleased, she rummaged through her bag and began to get dressed, calling over her shoulder through the half-open divider. "So, how did he end up over there with you?"

Jughead stretched and yawned. "You were out like a light. He started rustling around, trying to break through to my side. He wouldn't calm down until I let him over here." Betty couldn't see it, but Jughead was looking down at the pup and petting him on the head.

"Slept next to me the rest of the night. Worst case of puppy breath I've ever smelled in my life."

Betty couldn't help but laugh at that.

"You think that's funny, eh princess?"

"I really do," she chuckled. After throwing her last item of clothing on, Betty unzipped the barrier the rest of the way open.

Jughead was standing before her, half-naked wearing only his tight boxer briefs. He glared down at her. "Privacy much? What if I'd just walked in on you like that, huh?"

He had never looked so sexy, with his bed head and that almost-angry scowl. Betty's eyes unapologetically trailed down the length of his torso, down the thin line of hair leading into his underwear and stopped on his… massive erection.

 _Oh. God._ Now it made sense why he was suddenly modest.

Betty cleared her throat. "You… you're…"

"Hard."

"Yes."

"It's called morning wood. I can't be responsible for how I wake up, especially under these conditions."

Betty smirked. "Waking up next to a dog? Did that turn you on?" she snorted into a fit of laughter.

Jughead huffed out his annoyance. "I was referring to your impromptu peep show a few moments ago. And now you barged over here again before I had a chance to calm the fuck down from it."

Betty's laughter died at the stormy look in his eyes. "Oh…"

He huffed and collected his jeans off the tent floor. "I can only take so much."

His stare burned into hers as he pulled on his pants and fastened the button. He looked even sexier as his arousal strained against the material. As much as Betty felt awkward for having put him in this situation, she loved the idea of being the one responsible for his hard on. In fact, her ability to handle her attraction for him was dwindling pretty rapidly. With each second that passed, the muscles between her legs were tightening just from the way he was looking at her. These were the times she was grateful to be a woman because at least her excitement could be hidden. Still, this wasn't a good predicament. Betty needed to break the ice.

"What are our plans for today?"

He bent and picked up his shirt, pulling it on with ease. "We need to eat."

Betty nodded. "So we'll get breakfast out?"

"Yes, breakfast. What else would I be eating out?"

Betty nearly choked on her words. "Right, obviously breakfast… is what I meant. Breakfast is good. I'm hungry, you?"

Jughead stopped his tidying and bore his eyes into hers. "Starving." The way his eyes dragged down the expanse of her body implied he wasn't necessarily referring to food.

Betty was starving too.

She nodded frantically, swallowing hard. "Okay then," she said as she retreated to her side of the tent to pack up her things. She needed to cool off.

/

It took about an hour for Betty and Jug to break down their campsite and pack everything back into the car. They opted to stop at a fast food place that was just before the on-ramp to the highway. Jughead had gone inside to order their sausage biscuits and coffee, so Betty used the opportunity to open up her phone and search Google™: Jughead Jones.

What she expected to see was a list of his written works, or at the very least, a short Wikipedia page about him. What she had not expected to see was the same image over and over again of Jug, shirtless and holding either end of a white tee draped around his neck; back to the camera flaunting his taught ass and turned in such a way that drew your attention to his snake tattoo.

Curious as to what these could possibly be for, she expanded her search and found that they were attached to an article that was written, not specifically about Jughead, but about the gang he was apparently affiliated with. It was a very revealing article about the inner workings of a biker gang known as the Southside Serpants.

A familiarity washed over her again but she couldn't place it.

Knowing he'd be back any minute, Betty was reading through old articles and message boards so fast that her eyes hurt. It was evident from the comments that Jughead was more well-known for his brooding good looks and knack for writing than anything else. A lot of people seemed to back up the young Serpent as opposed to the author of the article. The pictures, she gathered, were personal and likely taken from a social media site and made viral against his wishes.

She couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for how he'd turned lemons into lemonade, though. A counter article wrote of all the good the Serpents actually do for the communities their hold up in, and the low level of complaints from the neighboring towns and cities. Jughead was cited as the reason for the change.

Scrolling down, she came across some pictures of him with an attractive girl, perhaps from facebook™ or instagram™? She was tiny, with milky-white skin and raven hair and dark red lips to contrast. One picture was of Jughead holding her very possessively, his mouth just centimeters from hers. A twinge—okay, maybe a boatload—of jealousy developed in the pit of Betty's stomach. It was obvious they were more than friends.

A knock on the window startled her, causing her to fumble her phone somewhere in the car. She'd heard it hit the center and the weight of it hitting the carpeted floor, but she lost sight of it immediately.

"Open up for your coffee," she heard him say through the window. She quickly rolled it down and tried to act cool, but her face was hot and she knew it had the potential to betray her. She took the cup from him as he gave her a curious once-over, then he walked around and got into the driver's seat. "What were you looking at?"

Betty swallowed a scorching sip of coffee. "Um, nothing. I was just…"

 _Shit._

Before she had the chance to explain herself, he had found and lifted the phone, scrolling through the pictures with his thumb. He then dropped it unceremoniously onto the center console. "Well, now you've seen it all, haven't you?"

Betty swallowed. "Yes… and it's outstanding."

He let out a single angry laugh. "Outstanding, huh?"

"Yes!"

"And tell me, Betty, what exactly is so outstanding about working practically your entire life for something and seeing it go up in flames in a matter of a day? What is so outstanding about being more famous for your reputation than your hard work? This is why I have to ghost write rather than just use my real name. I don't want anyone to search me for my works and find this trash instead." His scowl inflicted dread into the pit of Betty's stomach. "You know what was so nice about this trip with you up until now? You didn't see me as that guy that everyone thinks they know, except… except now you do."

 _Shit._ She'd really upset him.

"Jug," she started carefully. "I'm sorry, but I wasn't thinking those things at all."

"What were you thinking then?"

"I was thinking about how amazing it was that you stood up proudly in the face of adversity and made a name for yourself within your community. I was thinking about how striking you are, if you must know, and I was wondering who that girl in the facebook photo was or is to you. I was curious about everything, yes, but… not in the way you're insinuating. Not once did I think anything negative about you, Jug. I was fascinated."

Jughead let out a long, deep breath and muttered, "Let's just go."

Betty felt horrible for upsetting him and even though the internet was public, it somehow felt like she had invaded his privacy. More than anything, she felt like she had hurt him, and that hurt her, because whether or not she wanted to admit it, there was an unwanted ache in her chest brought on by his obvious disappointment. Betty felt herself falling for him, and that scared her.

An uncomfortable silence clouded the air for the better part of an hour. The only time he'd move his hands from the wheel was to feed their back-seat companion pieces of hash brown patty dipped in cock sauce. Even the dog liked the cock sauce.

After what felt like an eternity, Jughead finally looked over at Betty and sighed. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

Betty felt the twinges of hope as she looked over at him with big green eyes. "It's okay. I'm sorry that I made you uncomfortable."

"I probably would have done the same thing if I were you. It's just… all the stuff online, it's all bullshit. That's not the way to get to know me. If you want to know something, just ask me. Those people that post shit don't really know me."

"I do feel like I know the real you."

He looked at her for a long moment. "You probably know more than most people. I've been nothing but myself with you from the moment we met. Even though I give you shit, I feel comfortable around you, and that's rare for me."

There was that feeling in her chest again.

"I feel the same about you, and I don't really understand it. I just… I know I'm really glad that we crossed paths."

He flicked the snake ornament hanging from the rear-view. "Just think… if you'd never picked this up who knows where we'd both be right now?" He pointed to the backseat. "Or where this beast would be right now?"

"Probably roadkill by now," Betty murmured. She didn't even want to think about it.

Jughead glanced back at the canine. "Instead, he's eating our food and sleeping with both of us. No thanks to me. It was all you." He flashed a sexy side glance and startled Betty by putting his hand on her knee, triggering a sudden rush of desire. "You're sweet. You have a good heart. That prick, Archie, is gonna be sorry someday if he's not already."

When he took his hand away, Betty longed for its return. What he'd said also sent shivers throughout her body. An indescribable feeling overwhelmed her. Archie had never said such nice things about her, at least not to her knowledge and he certainly never said anything like that _to_ her.

Betty didn't know how to respond, so instead she ended the conversation by turning on the radio. Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys happened to be on.

Jughead smirked and turned up the volume. "Look at that! They're singing about you and your magic wand, Princess."

Betty rolled her eyes and turned away to hide her annoyed smile. They had finally broken through the earlier tension, and that gave her an overwhelming a sense of relief.

/

After driving for several more hours they decided to stop for a late lunch. Jughead had been quiet, but not uncomfortable quiet. He seemed to have been deep in thought, so Betty was thrilled when he finally spoke up again. "Are you in a rush to get to New York by a certain time?"

"I don't start my new position for another week, and the house I'm renting is fully furnished, so not really. Why?"

"Care to take a little detour before darkness falls?"

Excitement bubbled deep within her belly. He wasn't in a hurry to get rid of her after all. "Sure. I'd be up for that. What do you have in mind?"

"I'm thinking somewhere deep and wet," he winked.

Betty's ever-present blush donned her pretty cheeks once again, but she would be lying if she said her curiosity wasn't completely piqued.

/

Somehow Jughead managed to find the entrance to a state park not far off the highway. Betty was skeptical when they pulled the car in along the gravel pathway, but it appeared to be more or less empty of other people and so she didn't feel as if they were disturbing anyone's relaxing hike. She watched, curiously, out the window as they came upon a clearing and parked the car off to the side of the roadway. With a gasp, Betty set her eyes on a visible expanse of calm water, with a mountainous landscape in the backdrop. Its beauty was overwhelming.

She hadn't said a word or even blinked as they got out of the car and made their way off the beaten path just a tad and found a spot to sit and enjoy the sights and sounds.

"Oh my God, Juggie. It's so breathtaking."

Jughead didn't miss the new little nickname she'd given him. He looked at the wild girl beside him and watched her soak in the beauty of the space around and before them.

Betty looked over at him and saw that he'd been staring at her instead of out toward the majestic water.

"Yeah. It's very beautiful," he said in a low voice.

She smiled, not missing his meaning. "Let's take a picture."

He nodded, and with the lake as the backdrop, Jughead snapped a selfie of them with his phone. He then texted it to her so she'd have it. Though Betty was secretly just as excited that she now had his number to store in her phone, she didn't miss how perfect the shot came out either. The sun was hanging low in the sky behind them, casting an amber glow about them and graced her with an authentic smile, and they both looked so happy and at peace. It made Betty wish this moment could go on forever, that they never had to leave this place.

With a smile of gratitude, she turned and looked back out over the water. They sat down on a large flat rock and Betty looked out into a maze of blues and greens swirled with oranges and pinks as the sun set over the panoramic lake. She had thought Jughead was taking in the view as well, but what she hadn't noticed was he was watching _her_ watch the sunset.

"Tell me about your family," he said. Not so much a question as it was a need to know. Betty took a deep breath and he could see the shift of demeanor on her face though she kept her eyes forward.

"My dad lives back in California. He owns a car restoration business and does well… hence the Nova. He wasn't happy about me moving, but ever since he remarried, I've felt like he hasn't needed me as much anyway. I have a sister back east which is where we were originally raised and where my mom stayed when she and my dad split. She was a spitfire, my mom. Never took no for an answer. She died of an aneurysm a year after I graduated from law school, so at least she got to see me live out her dream which was that I become a lawyer and make lots of money," she sighed.

"It was her dream, but not yours…" he said in understanding.

"No. It's really not what I wanted."

"What is your dream?"

Betty thought about this for a moment. The only reason she chose to come back east was for her sister and niece and nephew, but beyond that she wasn't sure what was out there for her just yet. "I just want to be happy and fulfilled, but I have no clue what that even means anymore or how to get there. So much is up in the air right now for me. I feel like I'm at a crossroads in my life."

"That's not the worst thing in the world. Sounds like a good time to find yourself. What are they calling it? Self-love?" he smiled at her. She smiled back. "Especially since no one is tying you down."

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Speaking of which, I think we definitely scared off Archie the Ass for good." Their joined laughter at his comment caused an echo.

Betty stretched her arms and stared up at the sky. "You know what? I'm definitely happy right now. This—our little adventure—has been good for my soul."

He flashed a sincere smile. "You have a good soul. I could see that about you right away despite your bitchy facade. You know why you're happy?"

She dropped her arms behind her and leaned back a little. "Why?"

"Because you're finally loosening up."

"I guess you took the stick out of my ass while I was sleeping in the tent last night then?"

"Yup. Burned it in the campfire." He nudged me with his shoulder. She nudged him back and smiled, but quickly changed the subject back to him.

"What about your family? Where are they?"

Jughead paused and scratched his chin. "My dad's in New York, but we haven't spoken much in the last few months. Not because of him but because of me. I don't really know what to say to him. Every time we do talk it ends up in a fight."

"I'm so sorry."

"My sister was in New York with us but recently went back to Toledo to be with my mom. She got into some shit while she was with us and needed my help. It was a mess but we got it figured out."

"What happened?"

"It's a long story, but basically, she got into the wrong crowd and got mixed up with this drug dealer, had her running for her. It was a fucking nightmare."

"God, that's awful."

"I felt a lot of guilt because I was supposed to be looking out for her. I had my head stuck so far up my ass with Donna that I didn't know how bad things were with Jelly."

"Jelly?"

He nodded and gave her a little smile. "Jellybean."

Betty didn't bother to ask what her real name was, figuring he wouldn't tell her anyway. "Is she okay?"

"She's straightened up a lot, although she's still a work in progress. It's better she's with my mom, at least for now."

"And your Mom?"

"I visited her and Jelly on my way out west, actually. They're good right now. They have each other."

"I think it's amazing that you were there for her when she needed you, Jug."

"Well, my life had been nothing but selfish up until then. Nothing should ever come before family. I learned that the hard way. They mean everything to me."

"They're lucky to have you. I wish my family cared that much for each other."

"You'll have a family of your own someday, then you'll raise them right."

"I'd like to, but I'm not sure it's in the cards for me. I haven't had the best luck with men."

"I don't think it will take very long."

"What do you mean?" Betty asked, looking at him intently.

He refused to meet her eyes. "Girls like you are hard to find."

"Girls like me?"

"Okay. It's not hard to find a beautiful woman, right? Definitely not hard to find a smart woman. And there are definitely some women with good hearts. But in my experience, it's extremely rare to find the whole package."

"Don't even try to say you have trouble finding women, Jughead. From where I'm sitting, you could have anyone you wanted."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Is that what you think?"

"Am I wrong? Are you not a chick magnet?"

"Crazy psycho bitch magnet, maybe."

"You've never found the whole package?"

"The one time I thought I had, it turned out I was dead wrong. I thought it was love, but in retrospect, it was merely infatuation."

"The girl in the photos?"

His expression turned sullen as he looked down. "Yeah."

"What happened?"

"Donna was my fiancé."

"Wow," Betty was a little stunned. "You were going to marry her?"

"Yeah. Proposed to her three months into the relationship with this ridiculous ring I couldn't afford. Not too smart," he chuckled.

Betty relaxed a little. "She's gorgeous."

"You're prettier," he said without hesitation.

"And you're a fucking liar." She was dancing on the inside.

"I have no reason to lie. I've seen her without makeup. I've seen you without makeup. I'm telling you that you're prettier."

From the pictures I'd seen, Donna was brunette, thin and conventionally beautiful. With my unruly blonde waves and curvy frame, I looked nothing like her.

"You're nuts. How can I possibly compete with that?"

"Your beauty is more natural. When you leave it down, your hair is out of place and wild and I always want to play with it. It's sexy. I have yet to see you cake on layers of makeup and your skin is flawless none the less. Your ass is pretty great too."

Feeling suddenly shy, I grinned nervously and briefly looked away before asking, "What happened with her?"

"She was a writer too; I'd met her in a workshop of other writers. We were all competing to be the next ghost writer for the Baxter Brothers series. We had so much in common that it was easy to be around her. Even after I was selected the winner, she stuck by me and we did a lot of partying with the royalties. But as the months went on, her excitement started to wear off. I wasn't enough for her anymore. When I'd gone through a bit of a depression, I stopped wanting to go out, the lavish lifestyle wasn't for me, but she'd gotten a taste and couldn't let go. She kept on with it and eventually took up with one of my buddies behind my back. Settled down with him instead. She's married to him now with kids I think."

Bettys heard kind of broke for him. "Wow. What a cunt."

Jughead bent his head back in laughter. "Princess, did you just use the C-word?"

"Yup. First time in my life, but it was worth it."

"I didn't know you had such a dirty mouth," he said looking at her lips.

"Neither did I, but damn, it felt good to say it."

"I liked hearing you say it. I think you should shout it out into the great wide open in fact."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. Do it. Shout it out."

"Cunt!"

"Louder!"

"Cunt!" my voice echoed.

"Again."

"CUNT!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, laughing in the end.

We heard a thump against the window coming from the car parked just behind us. Jughead hopped up to check on things and immediately groaned. "Ah, crap. You scared the shit out of Hotdog."

"Oh, poor thing."

"That's not all," he cringed.

"What is it?" Betty got up at the tone of his voice and carefully moved toward him.

"When I say scared the shit out of him… I mean literally. Pup took a poop all over your backseat."

"What?" She was horrified as she moved to look in the cracked window and immediately her face contorted into one of disgust. "Ugh. Great."

Jughead opened the door and immediately leashed the dog, letting him hop down and sniff around. Betty sighed at the mess.

"You take him for a quick walk while I clean this up. We need to get going anyway."

Jughead nodded and headed back down the hill toward the water. Meanwhile, Betty grabbed the bag to one of their various fast food stops and un-crumpled a burger wrapper. She used the wax paper to clean up the mess, grateful it was at least solid and quickly disposed of it. Popping her glove compartment door, she grabbed her packet of wet wipes and cleaned the seat the rest of the way, disposing that with the rest in the hiking path garbage can.

About ten minutes later Jughead and _Hotdog_ reappeared, the dog looking to be in better spirits and Jughead looking tired. "I ran him a bit to try and tire him out," he offered breathlessly.

"Do you mind if we don't camp tonight?" Betty asked. "I'd like to shower and sleep in a bed."

"What do you say we go find a hotel near here, have a nice dinner, hot showers and call it a night? I'd like to sleep in your bed, too."

Bett whirled around on her feet. "What?"

"I said I'd like to sleep in a bed, too."

"Oh." She relaxed, and pouted. "What if we can't find a hotel that will let us take him in?" she asked, indicating their furry friend.

"We definitely won't, but he's been a curiously quiet companion since the moment we picked him up. I think we'll be able to sneak him in. Besides, the worst they can do if we get caught is kick us out. I say it's worth a shot."

Betty looked at him for a long moment then down at the puppy who was staring back up at her with big eyes. Excitement bubbled within her at the prospect of yet another adventure with these two. "Alright, lets do it."

 **TBC**

 **XoXoX**

 _I hope you're all staying safe and healthy out there._


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER**

 **I do not own, nor do I profit from, the Archie Comics, the CW Network program 'Riverdale' or the characters therein. They are simply used in the following story for my own entertainment. Any mention of other pop culture or media is in tribute only. No copyright infringement intended.**

 _Another quick one for you, I hope you enjoy and can escape to a happy place with this story as it unfolds._

 _We all need it right about now._

 **CHAPTER SEVEN**

It had been another long day on the road and Betty was ready for a good meal and a soft bed.

Jughead stopped at a drugstore on the way to the hotel while she waited in the car with the dog. When he returned, he handed her a plastic bag through the window and she immediately inspected its contents. Bottles of water, snacks for them, a chew toy and… puppy pads.

When he slipped into his seat and met her arched brow he simply shrugged. "Better safe than sorry."

She didn't disagree.

Looking out the window the let out a long sigh and sagged back into her seat, rubbing her temple.

"Not much farther," he answered her unspoken question.

/

About an hour later, somewhere in the middle of Missouri, Jughead pulled into the parking lot of a nice-looking hotel about ten minutes off the interstate. Betty was immediately unsure of their plan to sneak Hotdog into the building. As they slowly rolled by the entrance, she strained to look inside the large glass entrance doors. She could see the thirty-something man working the front desk. "I don't know, Jug. I'm nervous."

He chuckled as he put the car in park and rolled his window the rest of the way up. "Don't be; you have the easy part."

"Oh really…" she settled back into her seat and arched that brow at him again. "Wanna fill me in on your master plan mr. hard-part?" Betty cringes the moment the words leave her mouth.

Jughead laughs, really laughs but doesn't comment on it any further. It made Betty feel better, and also swoon at the same time. She wished he would laugh like that with her more often.

"Here's what we're gonna do… you are gonna go in there and get us a room-"

"Rooms," she corrected.

Jughead smirked but ignored her. "When you get the key-"

" _Keys_."

"When you get the keysuh," Betty smirked when he emphasized the plural. "… come back out to the car and grab your overnight bag. Leave me a key and head back to the front desk. Distract the clerk and I'll see if I can't get this little guy into that big pink duffle bag of yours, leaving it vented for him of course. I'll grab enough stuff that it looks like we just have a lot of baggage and hope for the best."

Betty didn't love the plan. "Do you really think they're not going to notice his feet moving around if he doesn't sit still?"

"I'm hoping you'll give them a really _good_ distraction."

She made a face and leaned forward to grab her purse from between her feet. "And what exactly am I going to distract them with?"

Jughead didn't even try to hide the way his eyes fell to her chest, now pushed up from her forward position and he shifted noticeably in his seat. "You'll figure it out."

Betty scoffed and slapped his arm, ignoring his chuckle as he jutted his hips forward to pull the wallet from his back pocket. "Here," he said offering her his credit card.

She quickly shook her head no and gently pushed his hand away. "They'll want you to sign, you have bigger fish to fry. I'll get these and you get the next."

Jughead nodded and put his card away. "Fair enough. Alright… let's do this thing."

/

Betty couldn't have hidden the blush on her face if she had tried. She had just unabashedly flirted with the front desk clerk with the top two buttons of her denim shirt popped open and feigned complete innocence while doing it. If he'd assumed her a complete airhead for wanting a floorplan in order to find the ice machine, he hadn't let it show. In fact, he'd offered to come show her personally when his shift was over, but she had politely declined.

Any other time in her life and she would have been attracted to the man at the front desk, but now there seemed to be only one person that could give her that low-down tickle.

Stepping out of the elevator Betty shook off the dirty feeling bubbling within her and made her way toward their rooms. She'd considered, very briefly, getting one room with two beds but quickly decided against it. While she'd come to trust _Jughead Jones_ enough to spend several days in a car with him, sharing a room three days into knowing him felt like maybe moving a little too fast.

Jughead had the door adjoining their separate rooms already open by the time Betty got inside. She could hear him rusting about on his side as she plopped her things down on her bed. Figuring she'd situate her things the way she liked a little later, she stepped over to the threshold between their rooms and smiled. Crossing her arms, she leaned on the frame and soaked in the undeniable cute-ness unfolding before her.

Jughead was attempting to lay a couple of puppy pads down on the tile floor near his bathroom for the dog, but each time he bent over to lay one flat the little guy would attack his face with puppy kisses, tail wagging as he dodged each attempt at shooing him away. "Alright, buddy. Calm down," Jughead chuckled. Finally, he caved and took a knee, allowing the dog into his personal space and giving him a nice body scratch in return. "You're a good boy, you know that? Yeah," _puppy licks_. "Good boy."

"You're so sweet with him."

Jughead turned his head toward suddenly, surprised to find Betty standing there. He hadn't heard her door unlock or close behind her for that matter. "Little bastard's growing on me."

"I know the feeling." _Because you're growing on me._

If Jug caught on to her meaning he didn't show it. Instead he gave the dog one more firm body rub then stood to his feet, taking a deep breath as he looked at the clock on the nightstand. "I was thinking I'd go out and get us something nice to eat before it gets too late. Do you like wine?"

Betty was taken aback and smiled as she pushed off the doorframe and slipped her fingers into her back pockets. "I do. I've actually been dying for a glass."

"What kind do you like?"

"Any kind of white."

"I like red. I'll get both."

Betty was giddy. "That sounds great," she smiled. "Do you know where you're going, though? We could just do room service…"

He shook his head. "I don't want to risk it in case they catch us with the dog. Plus, there was a place that caught my eye on the way in, about two miles down the road. I'd like to try it out."

"Alright. I think I'll take a shower while you're gone, then." Jugheads face fell a little and Betty wondered if it was because he wanted to try and sneak a peek at her in a towel again.

"Any special requests for dinner? And if you tell me a salad, I will find the greasiest thing on the menu and feed that to you instead," he threatened with a sexy smirk.

She scoffed and play slapped his arm. Truth was, she did not want a salad and she blushed at the memory of him feeding her breakfast the previous day. "Surprise me. I trust you."

Jughead grabbed the car keys off the chest of drawers and spun them around his finger. Before closing the door behind him he turned and gave her a wink that made her knees weak, and then he was gone.

Betty took a deep breath and shook off the tingling feeling he'd managed to leave in her body by doing absolutely nothing and decided to make the most of the fancy hotel bathroom. She grabbed a few of her toiletries she stopped and made eye contact with their dog. "Alright, this is a test. I'm trusting you to stay out of trouble." The dog sat and tilted his head at her. "Don't let me down."

Satisfied, she made her way to the bathroom and set her things down. Reaching into the large glass-door shower she turned the hot water knob all the way up, then the cold water about halfway. Almost immediately the room began to fill with steam and the glass doors fogged up.

Stripping her clothes off, then her undergarments, she dropped everything to the floor and glanced at the entryway to the bathroom. She had decided to leave it open in the event the dog got scared and wanted to be near her. And If Jughead just happened to come back while she was still in there, then… oh well.

 _Bad Betty._

But, as the hot water poured down on her, all the emotions she'd been struggling with the past few days seemed to pummel her all at once. It hit me suddenly that they were on the final leg of this trip now. She still had no clue if she and Jughead would simply go their separate ways once they got to his stop, wherever that was, or if he was interested in seeing her more once they got settled.

Based on that phone call she'd overheard the day before last, clearly, there was something he was keeping from her. She never did flat out ask him if there was currently someone else when he admitted to a "complicated" situation. Even knowing that was a possibility, she couldn't help the feelings she had developed for him. By some strange circumstance, Jughead was the only thing that felt right in her life right now—the only thing that felt like _home_ for as long as she could remember.

Half an hour passed. Her breathing had become labored as a result of her own mind and the shower was no longer relaxing her the way she needed it to, and so she decided to get out. She was a little surprised, and disappointed, that Jug hadn't come back yet, but she assumed that whatever food he was ordering for them must not be the grab-and-go kind and she was grateful for that.

Wrapping herself in a big fluffy towel she wiped the steam away from the mirror and inspected herself. She turned various degrees, holding her hair up then mussing it and letting it fall to her shoulders. For the first time in a long time, she felt confident and at home in her body. Jugheads positive appraisals had a lot to do with her confidence boost, and she couldn't help the smile that sprouted on her face once again.

She moved into her room and unzipped her duffel, pulling out a plain t-shirt and cozy cotton shorts to wear. Throwing them on with a fresh bra and panty set-matching, just in case-and decided to watch a little TV while she waited for her co-pilot.

Hotdog jumped up on the bed next to her and cuddled close, warming Bettys heart. She was never so grateful that she hadn't made roadkill out of this little guy as she was right in that moment.

Before she realized it, an hour went by, but Jug still hadn't returned. She got up and looked out the window, hoping she would see him crossing the parking lot with arms full of food and wine, but no matter how many times she checked she never saw him. With each passing minute, an uneasy feeling grew in the pit of her stomach.

 _Shit_. He had her car! What if he never came back? It was a foolish thought. He'd given her no reason to believe that he would do such a thing. Still, her reaction was one of sudden panic. She sat on the end of the bed and began to rock, staring at the tv screen but not hearing nor seeing anything it had to offer her.

She thought perhaps she was just exhausted from the trip, a little delusional, but when another half-hour passed, she called his phone. It went straight to voicemail.

With each minute the panic grew, and her eyes began to well. She couldn't help it; she knew it was probably an overreaction, but she had already lost control of her emotions once in the shower, and his not returning was adding fuel to the fire that was her anxiety.

A tickle on the edge of her hand made her look down, and it was only then that she realized she'd dug her fingernails into her palms as she was pacing. "Shit," she sniffled as she hurried to grab a tissue and blot up the one drop that had fallen to the carpet. The last thing she needed was an additional cleaning charge to the _two_ rooms she rented out.

The door suddenly opened, and her head whipped up.

"My God, that was a cluster fuck," Jughead groaned, shuffling into the room and dropping several paper bags on the dresser. He turned just in time to catch her scrambling to her feet and wiping her eyes and nose. He rushed to her side. "Betty, are you crying? What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"No. No, I'm fine. It's nothing," she lied.

He gripped her upper arms and ducked his head to catch her gaze that she was attempting to avert. "It doesn't look like nothing. What the hell is going on?"

Eventually she looked him in the eyes, her own still red and her face still puffy from crying. "You were gone so long. I called your phone, and there was no answer. I started to think maybe…"

Jughead blinked repeatedly. _Shit_. "You thought I wasn't coming back?"

She licked her lips, tasting the salt of her own dried up tears. "It was just a fleeting thought. Deep down, I knew it was ridiculous but couldn't seem to help it. It's been a long trip, and I think I'm just tired."

Jughead gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb, and his eyes fell to the hands she was trying to hide from him. "I'm sorry you got scared," he whispered as he took one of her hands and turned it palm side up. The weight of her anxiety hit him like a ton of bricks. "Fuck." He took her chin in his hands and turned my face to meet his eyes once again. "I wouldn't do that to you, Betty. Never. Please know that."

Her heart raced as he pulled her into his embrace. Almost instantly she melted into his solid, warm frame. His heart thundered against her as he hugged her tightly.

Betty never wanted him to let her go.

When he pulled back, cold air replaced the warmth of his body. "Can we please erase this from memory?" she asked with a weak smile. "It was a lapse in sanity." She wiped the last of her tears and sniffled, taking a deep breath then exhaling. "Really though, what took you so long?"

He didn't answer right away. He was still just looking at her hands with a serious expression as he examined the tiny wounds she had inflicted on herself. He seemed to be contemplating something; Betty couldn't recall him ever looking that serious before. Finally, he sighed and backed out of her personal space.

"I had to go to two different restaurants. The first one told me it would be an hour wait, and the second was no better." He lifted his phone out of his pocket and connected it to a charger. "My phone died. That's why you couldn't reach me."

Betty shook her head, feeling so foolish for overreacting.

Jughead pulled her toward the bathroom and encouraged her to clean up her hands. "Let's forget this and have a nice dinner, eh?"

Trying my best attempt at a genuine smile, I said, "That sounds good."

When she re-emerged from the bathroom Jughead had everything laid out for them, waiting at the small desk in her room. He pulled in the chair from his own room and waited for her to sit before opening to-go containers and showing her what he brought.

"Smells amazing" she admitted as she tried to act as normal as possible.

He had ordered three entrees from an Italian restaurant: eggplant lasagna, chicken parmesan and pasta primavera. He said he figured they could share all three unless there was something she really didn't like, but she agreed it was a good idea. She watched in amusement as he struggled to open two bottles of wine with the broken corkscrew from his pocketknife.

Jughead poured wine into the two paper cups. "I know it's a lot of food, but I figured he'd want to eat as well," he said, placing a plate of food on the ground for Hotdog.

Betty chuckled and pat the dog on his head as he sniffed around the foot of the bed. Though she felt better and Jug had gone back to making jokes while they ate, the tension in the air never let up. All throughout dinner all Betty could think about was what she would do without him, and to shoo those thoughts away she just kept pouring herself cup after cup of Chardonnay, and before she knew it, the wine was all gone and she was all smiles again.

/

After dinner Betty had offered to clean up and Jughead graciously agreed. He said was overtired from the drive and was in desperate need of a shower and Betty jokingly agreed. He had given her a half smile and retreated to his room immediately thereafter.

As Betty gathered up the garbage and set some water and leftovers down for the dog she wondered if she had freaked him out with her crying episode. Though they had fallen into easy conversation and the incident was not brought up again, she could feel a heaviness in the air between them. Having had too much wine, she lay on her bed and stared up at the ceiling, wondering if the pent-up tension was a result of over-flirting and small touches that had yet to culminate to something more.

She wanted him, there was no doubting that anymore. And she was fairly certain he wanted her too, so why were they pussyfooting around one another?

With her buzz granting her false courage, Betty got up and opened the adjoining door.

His room was already dark, illuminated only by the television that he'd turned on but muted. The shower was running, and she imagined stepping and joining him. While the idea sent a thrill up her spine, she didn't have that much courage, and decided instead to lay down on Jughead's bed. She lay her head into the thick down-feathered pillow then stretched herself out so her long legs were on display, one flat and the other bent slightly at the knee. Her shirt was hanging loose, having ditched the bra after dinner, and she waited casually for him.

When Jughead emerged from the bathroom, he stopped short of the bed. He was wrapped in nothing but a white towel. His dark hair was wet and slicked back, droplets of water slowly ran down his chest. The room was dark, but his eyes were darker.

' _I have no reason to lie. I'm telling you that you're prettier. Girls like you are hard to find.'_

So overcome with pent up desire, Betty licked her lips and never thought to try and hide it. Her heart was beating out of her chest. She wasn't sure what was giving her more courage, his words from earlier or the alcohol buzzing through her system; maybe a little of both.

Jughead visibly clenched his jaw and flexed his fingers. "What are you doing in here, Betty?"

The tone of his voice turned her spine to ice. Quickly she sat up and set her feet on the carpeted floor. "I just thought… Do you not want me here?"

He closed his eyes briefly, his chest rising as he took a deep breath in then said, "It's late. I think it's better if you go back to your room. We have a long drive again tomorrow."

Her stomach dropped. Humiliated didn't even begin to describe the feeling as she adjusted her shirt that had ridden up and rose to her feet. "Yeah… you're right. I guess I didn't realize how late it was."

Jughead just stood there towering over her, large hands gripping his sides as Betty moved to walk past him and to the conjoining doors. She could smell that uniquely fresh scent of him as she moved by and her insides clenched. She looked over her shoulder at him one more time before slightly closing the door, leaving open only a crack in case the dog wanted to come to her in the night. Her cheeks burned as she turned out the light in her room and carefully slipped under the large duvet, sniffling as she laid her head into the pillow where it immediately began to spin.

Though exhausted, she spent more than an hour tossing and turning, ruminating over why suddenly Jughead turned cold. He had sent her so many signals throughout the day that indicated he wanted her. They had opened up to one other. They had laughed. He'd told her she was pretty, and on several occasions checked her out openly.

Maybe she misread everything. Maybe he was just being nice. Maybe he was attracted but didn't really want her beyond that. Maybe the crying freaked him out.

Betty was more confused than ever, but she already knew one thing for certain; by the end of this trip she would wind up hurt.

 **TBC**

 _I've been very out-of-it, so my editing hasn't been great. If you notice anything cringy please let me know as I do try to fix any errors for the sake of future-readers._

 _I hope you're all staying safe and healthy out there._


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER**

 **I do not own, nor do I profit from, the Archie Comics, the CW Network program 'Riverdale' or the characters therein. They are simply used in the following story for my own entertainment. Any mention of other pop culture or media is in tribute only. No copyright infringement intended.**

 _Thank you so, so much to those of you who take the time to review. And to my silent readers, I can only hope you are enjoying this ride with the rest of us! It makes me happy to know you guys are happy._

 **CHAPTER** **EIGHT**

Betty didn't even bother to get out of bed before she hid her face.

She was beyond embarrassed about what had transpired the night before. What had she been thinking? Crawling into Jugheads bed and then actually being surprised when he'd asked her to leave? Sure, it still stung that he obviously didn't want her in that way, especially because he was consistently giving her signals that told her otherwise, but really what did she expect from a man she'd met mere days before?

 _The fairytale would be nice._

She heard him bustling about in his room and she pulled the covers back just in time for a thirty-pound golden blur of fur to jump up and attack her face with slobbery kisses. Not exactly the morning affection she was craving. She gently pushed the dog away and sat up, wiping at her cheeks as she heard a gentle knocking on the threshold.

"Good Morning," he said solemnly, and she hated the way her breath hitched at the mere sight of him. "We ought to get checked out and some food in us before we hit the road again."

Betty was sure her cheeks were bright pink as she held the sheets up over her chest. Even with a t-shirt she felt too underdressed around him now. "Yeah okay," was all she could manage back and then he disappeared again. She looked around the room for a moment then begrudgingly got out of bed and headed for the shower.

The rest of the morning was awkward, and not the type of exciting awkward they had encountered in the tent the morning prior. It was the don't-know-what-to-say-now type of awkward, and it stayed that way the entire time at checkout, the entire time they snuck the dog out the back door and the time they drove to find breakfast.

Now they sat at a Waffle House filled with truckers and retirees, listening to the meaningless chatter of everyone around them. Jughead ate his mountain of food while he read the paper, and Betty pushed her rye toast around on her plate with no intention of eating any.

She felt foggy. Despite being physically and mentally exhausted last night, she had been unable to find rest. Jugheads rejection had left her feeling sad, unwanted - _again_ \- and well, angry. And now the silence between them was starting to irritate her on top of it all. She stirred her coffee and let the spoon clank loudly on the table.

Jughead raised one brow in her direction as he chewed his bacon. "Everything okay, Princess?"

"Fine." She avoided eye contact, instead looking out the window as she sipped her coffee. It was bitter… and so was she.

He brushed his hands off and leaned back against the booth, splaying his arms along the top of the seat and studying her. It gnawed at him more than he cared to admit that she was not her usual snappy self. "I may not be an expert in women," he started. "But I know enough about them to know that _fine_ means _definitely not fucking fine_."

Betty shrugged and spared him one moment of eye contact, then dropped her eyes back to her coffee. "Well, apparently you don't know _me_. Because fine means fine."

He ignored her and continued with his analysis of one simple word. "And the speed at which the _fine_ is delivered is directly proportional to the level of pissed off." He sipped his coffee and tipped the mug in her direction. "And your _fine_ came pretty damn quick. I may not know _you_ as entirely but make no mistake. I _know_ women."

Betty lifted her eyes, ready to spit fire back at him but the waitress interrupted as they glared at one another from across the table. "Everything okay here?"

"Fine," she snapped. Her response came so fast and sharp, the waitress was taken aback. Betty would normally feel bad about that, but she was too busy seeing red at his comment.

Jughead turned on his charm and gave the waitress a coy smile. "Sorry. It's her time of the month, and she gets like this." He shrugged, and the waitress looked at him sympathetically. Even she felt sorry for him, apparently.

Betty jaw ticked in frustration, but she waited for the woman to walk away. "Could you not do that?"

"Do what?"

"Fabricate scenarios that aren't true."

"I'm not sure it _is_ fabricated. You're quite the fucking bitch this morning so I've deduced that maybe that's your problem. Is it your time of the month, Princess? Is that what's bothering you?"

"I am not a bitch. And even if I had my period, which I _don't_ , it's not the reason why I'm acting this way."

"So, you admit something _is_ bothering you then?"

"What is this, a deposition? Are _you_ a lawyer now? I thought you were an ass model." The mention of the photo from the article seemed to strike a nerve. Jughead sat back and glared at her; she glared right back. _Good_ , she thought. She had sufficiently pissed him off enough to shut him up for the rest of their meal.

Together they finished their plates in unhappy silence, both eager to get their show on the road. Jughead threw cash down on the table and mumbled something about taking the dog for a quick walk. Betty opted to do some stretching beside the car to try and relieve some of the tension that had built up over the course of the morning, but to no avail. She was still just as pent-up when he returned as when he left. He looked at her for a long moment, a solemn expression on his face as he loaded the dog into the back seat and jerked his head at her to get in the car. Betty did just that and they started back out on the open road.

He took the first shift driving. Five minutes into the trip her phone was buzzing, and Archie's name flashed on the screen. She pressed the button to silence him and Jughead wondered if she would start picking up his calls once he was out of the picture. "Don't you want to talk to lover boy?" he asked facetiously.

Betty answered in earnest. "No. I make it a point to only be an idiot once. He showed me who he truly was with his actions. It doesn't matter what he says with words now." Jugheads eyes flashed to her and he hoped he was able to convey the admiration he was feeling in their extended, tense silence.

They remained quiet for another hour after that.

"What do you think about another detour, Princess?" he asked softly. She looked over at him with confusion written clearly on her face. "Atlantic City for a night or two? Pretend we're in little Vegas?"

It made Betty sad to answer, and everything in her wanted to say yes, but she knew spending two more nights with him wasn't a smart idea. She was already feeling something he wasn't; putting some distance between them was the right thing to do before she fell any harder. "I should probably just get to New York."

She saw his face fall at her reply, and it only served to confuse her some more.

"Okay," he said softly. "If that's what you want."

 _It's not what I want_ , she thought. Not trusting herself to look at him again without caving she shuffled down further into her seat and rested her head on the glass of the window, hoping her exhaustion would allow her at least a power nap to get through this day.

/

Hours later, knowing it would be their last full day together, a feeling of melancholy settled in. They stopped at a gas station to fill up and, as usual, Jughead was sucking on a Pixy Stick™ when he returned to the car after paying the clerk.

"Want one to suck on?" He asked her as he whipped a fistful of long purple sticks from his back pocket.

Betty shook him off. "No thanks."

"You sure? You look like you could use a good suck," he winked.

That comment stung more than she cared for it to. She sighed. "Why do you do that?"

"Eat sugar?" he asked as he slipped back into the car.

"No," she buckled herself in. "Why do you make remarks with sexual innuendo to them all the time?"

He shrugged and started the engine back up, then put the car into gear. "Guess my head is always in the gutter when I'm around you, Princess." He pulled away from the pump and navigated out of the parking lot.

"Except last night, apparently." Betty mumbled under her breath, a little louder than she had intended, and she cringed to herself.

Jughead looked at her for a long moment then looked back to the road. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Betty crossed her arms and sunk down into her seat, refusing to look in his direction. "Never mind."

"No, what is it? Is this all because I asked you to leave my room?"

"Can we not rehash last night? I feel like an idiot enough. You don't have to pretend to be attracted to me to make me feel better today; I'm a big girl."

"What?" His brows drew together. "Is that what this has been about? You think I'm not attracted to you?"

Betty shrugged and refused to meet his eyes, more embarrassed of her reaction at this point than the actual rejection itself.

Jughead looked back and forth between her and the road about half a dozen times, not believing his own ears, then finally muttered a string of curses and pulled off to the shoulder with a halt. They hadn't even made it a mile out from the gas station stop. At this rate, Betty was certain she would never get away from him.

He threw the car into park and got out, slamming the door hard behind him, causing her to jump. The whole car shook with the strength of his anger. She watched from inside as he paced. He ran his fingers through his inky hair as he walked back and forth on the dirt, grumbling incoherencies to himself.

 _What the hell was he angry for? Because I called him on his crap? Because I'd made him feel bad for rejecting me?_

Betty decided she was glad he was pissed because so was she. After a few minutes or his charade, she got out of the car, too.

"You know what, get over yourself. Someone finally called you on the little game you play. Being rejected sucks. Although, I'm sure unfamiliar with the feeling," she scoffed.

Jughead stopped pacing and stared at her. The muscle in his jaw ticked and he looked like he was about to blow his lid. _Good_ , Betty thought. She wanted him to blow.

"And you know what else? Plenty of men find me attractive. I don't even care that you don't. You're no different than Archie; saying one thing and doing another."

Well that did it. The explosion came. Although, it wasn't at all what Betty had predicted.

Jughead stalked over to her, eyes full of fiery anger. She backed up until she was against the car with nowhere else to go, and suddenly he was right there, caging her in with one arm on either side of her head and his hands splayed on the roof of the old car, their noses only centimeters apart.

"You're right about one thing, Princess. I'm not attracted to you." Betty was already gutted but refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing tears. Inside, though, her heart was slowly breaking.

He wasn't done.

"Attracted was what I was when I saw you that first day in the store. Dangling that little charm between those delicate fingers, face full on pouting and eyes sparkling. I thought you were beautiful. _Gorgeous_ even. But now, I'm not attracted to you anymore. Now that I've gotten to know you, it's not attraction…"

Betty willed her bottom lip not to tremble. She wanted to tell him to go screw himself, but even as he was saying terrible things to her, she was mesmerized by him. The way his number-thirteen eyes turned from seafoam blue with a hint of gray to gray with a just a hint of blue-green when he was angry. The way his chest heaved up and down, whispering against her now-pebbled nipples and _damn_ if he didn't smell good, too. She stood there and waited for the rest of his rant, chin held high and refusing to let him crush her.

"Now that I see what's really behind that bitchy façade—a woman who was hurt badly yet still willing to put herself out there because deep down she's a romantic—attraction doesn't come close to what I feel when I look at you. You really want to know what I feel when I look at you now?"

Somehow Betty managed swallow down the hurt and let him continue.

"Attraction is _way_ too tame of a word for what happens when I look at you. I want to fucking _conquer_ you. Watch your beautiful face as I sink so deep, so hard it borders on pain. I want to plant myself so far that you won't be able to walk for days." His eyes dropped to her parted lips. "The only thing that could possibly be more beautiful than your face when you smile at me," then back to her eyes. "…is your face while you're cumming with me buried inside of you." He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers, letting out deep sigh. "So yeah, you're right. I'm not attracted to you. It's much, much more than that already."

Betty let out a small whimper and he inhaled sharply at the sound. She was certain he could feel the way her heart was thundering away in her chest even though only their foreheads were touching. "I don't understand then."

Jughead wasn't blind. He knew she was developing feelings for him. He also knew that he could never forgive himself for turning this girls world upside down because of the happenstance of meeting her at a rest stop some three thousand miles from where he needed to be. He could never ask her to wait for him. And the closer they got to one another during this tryst, he knew he was more and more likely to ask her to.

He lifted one hand to her face and cupped her cheek, his eyes closed as he visibly tried to regain his composure. He caressed her cheek tenderly before his hand slid down to her throat, then to her sternum, feeling her skin humming beneath his own. A long moment silently ticked by.

Her heartbeat was under his thumb when he finally spoke. "I wish things were different."

In a flash he was gone, moving around to the drivers' side of the car and he got back in, sitting in the seat and waiting patiently for her to join him so they could continue onward.

Betty stayed where she was for a couple of minutes, needing the time without his eyes on her to catch her breath and absorb what he had said to her. He _did_ want her. But he couldn't take her because of something bigger looming around the corner. She knew it was not wise to ask, as he likely would have told her by now what it was that was keeping him tied down if it was something they could consider navigating around.

She tried not to let the seriousness of it bring her down. Instead she held her head up and reveled in the knowledge that she wasn't crazy, and that her feelings were reciprocated, if not returned ten-fold. She cautiously pushed herself off the hot car and slipped back into the passengers' seat, afraid to look at him for fear of jumping in his lap and having her way with him.

He pulled back onto the road without another word.

The next few hours of the drive, her emotions were in turmoil. They had both stayed quiet, although there was no longer an angry tension in the air. Betty was confused, to say the least, and when they started to see the signs for New York, the only thing that was clear in her jumbled head was that she wasn't ready for this trip to be over.

"Juggie," she said softly. "If the offer is still open, I'd like to take the detour." Her voice was quiet, almost hesitant.

Jughead glanced over at her, a solemn look on his face at first. As Betty stared back at him with her big green eyes and a hint of a smile on her face, a slow grin spread wide on his. "You want to sin with me, Princess?"

Bettys body tingled at his words.

 _Did I ever._

 **TBC**

 _I know this one was short, but I hope the content more than makes up for it._

 _Please let me know what you think in a review! And tell your friends about this story!_

 _It would mean the world._


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